What Happens to Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon? Does Alicent Hightower die?
King Viserys’ death marks a significantly critical point in the books as this was the starting point of the Civil War, aka The Dance of the Dragons, i.e. The fight between Aegon II Targaryen and his older sister Rhynera Targaryen for the sit in the Iron Throne.
When King Viserys became ill and died at age 52 during 129 AC, his death was kept a secret, and his second wife, Alison Hightower, concealed this from the public so that the news couldn’t reach Rhynera, who was at Dragonstone.
Before dying, King Viserys I Targaryen named his firstborn daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen born to his first wife, Aemma Arryn, to be his heir and successor on the Iron Throne.
But, after King Viserys’s death, some of the Targaryens supported Aegon II, the son born to King Viserys’s second wife, Alison Hightower, to claim the throne rather than Queen Rhaenyra.
This created a civil war between the Targaryens themselves and is known as the Dance of the Dragons.
The Greens, aka Queen’s party, the faction of House Targaryen loyal to the rise of Aegon II as King of the Seven Kingdoms, was opposed by The Blacks, aka The Party of the Princess, the loyalists who supported the rise of Rhaenyra Targaryen as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
So what happens to Alicent Hightower? Does Alicent Hightower die in the books? Well, let us find the answers below.

What Happens to Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon? Does Alicent Hightower die?
We know that King Viserys became ill and died at age 52 during 129 AC.
Alison Hightower concealed this from the public, and upon discussing with the greens (Queen’s party), she thought putting the throne to her son’s head Aegon II as the King of Seven Kingdoms, the death of Viserys was kept a secret so that the news can’t get spread to Rhaenyra as she was at Dragonstone during that point of time.
But later on, when Rhaenyra came to know that her father Viserys had died and his rotten body was kept in Alicent’s chambers for days plus her birthright, that is to be the Queen of Seven Kingdoms, was also taken.
Therefore, Rhaenyra declared war against Alicent, Aegon II and the House Green.
Although Alicent provided a generous offer to Rhaenyra to keep the Dragonstone to herself, Rhaenyra refused.
Then during the civil war, many house greens members died when Rhaenyra and Daemon stormed King’s Landing, but Rhaenyra didn’t kill her old friend.
So Alicent Hightower doesn’t die after the ending of Dance of Dragons, even when Rhaenyra became the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and served six months before Aegon II killed Rhaenyra in Dragonstone, Alicent Hightower was alive.
But after following the death of Aegon II, who Grand Maester Orwyle poisoned, Rhaenyra’s son Aegon III took the throne, and his hand Tyland Lannister put Alicent in Maegor’s Holdfast.
As per the books, Alicent lived her remaining time there, and during the winter fever epidemic, Alicent died.
Alicent became completely mad due to the loneliness and depression that everyone she cared about had already died.
Alicent started blaming herself for starting the conflict against Rhaenyra out of jealousy and eventually started hating the colour green.
Later on, as the winter fever grips her, she dies during her sleep.
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