Rhaegar Was Not Evil
George RR Martins Point of View narration system is used to great effect in the first book to instill in the reader an intensely negative opinion about Rhaegar Targaryen. And yet, tellingly, all of these pejorative descriptions emanate from the man who had cause to hate the Rhaegar the most: Lord Robert Baratheon. In Roberts mind Rhaegar was an insane rapist who kidnapped and ultimately brought about the death of the woman he loved more than any other, and in the beginning of the book this image of Rhaegar burns itself onto the readers subconsciousness. But as the series progresses there are a tranche of characters who remember Rhaegar as a principled and worthy man- including the 2 characters that are oft-depicted as the most honourable men in the series: Ned Stark and Ser Baristan Selmy. Selmy, who had served three kings, recalled that Rhaegar would have been better than all three combined. What I propose happened is that Rhaegar and Lyanna fell in love around the time of the events of the Tourney of Harrenhal. And we have a clue to this with The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle, but when her pup brother teased her for crying she poured wine over his head... A Storm of Swords And one of my favourite verses from the first book... "Yet sometimes Dany would picture it the way it had been...Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved..." A Game of Thrones The woman was not Elia of Dorne. It was Lyanna Stark of Winterfell.