Why did Rhaenyra wed Daemon?

[The hairy bear]

17 hours ago, Curled Finger said:

Aegon didn't want to usurp his sister's position and had to be convinced to take the crown.   Seems to me young Aegon was taught well that it was his sister who would be Queen, not he.   Is it just me or did the whole scene and story of Alycent explaining the need for him to take rule seemed surprising to Aegon?   This hadn't occurred to him previously and I think it's logical that his father, the king, imparted his wishes and commands to his children.

The source of Aegon II not wanting to take the crown was Septon Eustace, a source that has been proven unreliable and biased. It seems that this "bit" is made up only to justify Aegon for ignoring his father's will.

And it's not very consistent with Aegon's actions later in the war, specially when everything was lost and Cregan Stark's army aproached KL. Corlys told him to surrender and take the black, but Aegon wouldn't hear anything about resigning the crown and was prepared to resist to the end.

[Lord Varys]

2 minutes ago, The hairy bear said:

The source of Aegon II not wanting to take the crown was Septon Eustace, a source that has been proven unreliable and biased. It seems that this "bit" is made up only to justify Aegon for ignoring his father's will.

And it's not very consistent with Aegon's actions later in the war, specially when everything was lost and Cregan Stark's army aproached KL. Corlys told him to surrender and take the black, but Aegon wouldn't hear anything about resigning the crown and was prepared to resist to the end.

I'd actually say the better evidence for Aegon II fiercely hating Rhaenyra and her children and husband can be seen much earlier when he outright refused to even entertain the notion to deliver terms for a peaceful settlement to Rhaenyra. He had to persuaded by pretty much his entire court to agree to terms that were essentially just granting Rhaenyra what she already had.

But there is a point to the idea that Aegon the Elder most likely was raised expecting never to become the king. This doesn't mean he did not secretly covet the crown but I'm actually somewhat inclined to give the benefit of the doubt there. We know he didn't like his half-sister but he might actually have been fine with her getting the throne while he himself could have continued having a fun life whoring and eating.

Viserys I definitely didn't treat Aegon as his heir, while Aegon and his siblings were obliged to treat Rhaenyra as the future queen whenever they met. That would have had an effect him. Even Aemond asks whether Rhaenyra or Aegon would be the next monarch. That strongly suggests that Alicent/Otto and their inner circle did actually not include Alicent's children into their deliberations what to do after Viserys I's death.

Thus Aegon II could actually have been pretty surprised when he was suddenly offered the throne. And unlike Otto and Alicent he might actually have been afraid of Rhaenyra and Daemon or been somewhat skeptical about his chances to prevail, making him hesitant to take the crown when it was first offered him. If this was the case it would have had nothing to do with him wanting to honor his father's decree or him seeing Rhaenyra as 'the rightful heir'.

[The hairy bear]

27 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

But there is a point to the idea that Aegon the Elder most likely was raised expecting never to become the king.

Surely Viserys never treated Aegon the Elder as his heir, but I'm convinced that Alicent and many other people did. In fact, adding the honest Greens, the flatterers, the ones that try to have a foot in each camp, and the ones that supported Rhaenyra but wanted to play safe (you never know when Viserys is going to change his mind), I imagine that nearly everyone at court treated Aegon as a royal heir, specially when Viserys and Rhaenyra were not around.

A hint that he really expected to become king is that he was the one calling Rhaenyra's sons "Strongs". This was the year of the Red Spring, when he was 13. At this time, he was old enough to understand what a bastard was, and that calling his nephews bastards meant that he was the real heir. But he was still too young to have come with all of this on his own. Certainly someone (his mother, or perhaps Cole) had put the idea in his head.

27 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

Even Aemond asks whether Rhaenyra or Aegon would be the next monarch. That strongly suggests that Alicent/Otto and their inner circle did actually not include Alicent's children into their deliberations what to do after Viserys I's death.

I agree that Alicent's children were not included in the inner circle, or had anything to do with Viserys' probable posioning. Both Aegon and Aemond were, after all, unreliable and too impulsive to confide them secrets.

But they were certainly aware that their family intended to push for their claim once the time came. In fact, Aemond asking whether Rhaenyra or Aegon would be the next monarch is actually a demonstration that Viserys's will was not a factor at all. I interpret the question as meaning: "do we act now, or do we wait a little more for a better opportunity to seize the throne?"