Does Team Green (minus Aemond) have a preference for what they want the gender of Daenera's baby to be?
A girl, and for that matter, only girls born to Daenera and Aemond would be easier for TG to deal with, because a son can always claim the throne and be taken more seriously for the simple fact that he's male. Using real historical examples, I will attempt to make my case that TG will hope for only girls from Daenera and her line for the foreseeable future.
Setting: England 1138-1153. After losing his only son to a boating accident across the English Channel, Henry I names his only surviving child, his daughter Matilda, as his heir and successor. Matilda marries Geoffrey Plantagentet, Count of Anjou, at her father's orders, and secures the royal line by producing 3 sons in rapid succession. Upon her father's death, however, her cousin Stephen of Blois claims the throne through his mother, Adela, the sister of Henry I and the daughter of William the Conqueror. Matilda is at a disadvantage as she is a woman and Stephen a man, and the 15 year civil war that follows, known later as 'The Anarchy', saw widespread breakdown in law and order. Towards the end of the war, Matilda's eldest son, Henry Plantagenet, finally comes of age in France and invades England himself, to finally secure the throne and eliminate Stephen. At the end, a compromise is reached, Stephen will reign until his death, after which Henry will assume the throne as Henry II, bypassing Matilda. England wasn't ready to accept a ruling Queen yet, but this conflict saw 2 men claim the throne through a female lineage: Stephen through Adela, and Henry through Matilda.
Setting: England and France 1337-1453. Charles IV of France died without any sons or brothers in 1328, initiating a succession crisis. A similar crisis in 1316 had resulted in the Estates-General in 1317 deciding that "Women do not succeed in the kingdom of France". Charles's closest male relative was his nephew Edward III of England, whose mother Isabella was Charles's sister. Isabella claimed the throne of France for her son by the rule of proximity of blood, but the French nobility rejected this on the basis of the 1317 decision, declaring that Isabella could not transmit a right she did not possess. An assembly of French barons decided that a native Frenchman should receive the crown rather than Edward. The throne passed to Charles's patrilineal cousin instead, Philip, Count of Valois who had been made regent on the death of Charles IV. Edward protested but ultimately submitted and did homage for Gascony. Further French disagreements with Edward induced Philip during May 1337 to meet with his Great Council in Paris. It was agreed that Gascony should be taken back into Philip's hands, which prompted Edward to renew his claim for the French throne, this time by force of arms. The following 115 year war, later known as the Hundred Years War, saw English king after English king go to war with France in order to claim the French crown, all through the descent of Isabella.
Setting: England 1455-1487. A bit of background on this conflict is necessary. About 120 years before this event broke out, Edward III was King of England. He had 5 sons: Edward the Black Prince, Lionel the Duke of Clarence, John of Gaunt, Edmond the Duke of York, and Thomas the Duke of Gloucester. The Black Prince died before his father, but not before securing his line with the birth of his son, Richard, so when Edward III dies, the throne passes easily to his grandson, Richard II. Richard II, however, sucks as a king and person, and turns the country against him. His cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt, overthrows Richard and claims the English crown as Henry IV through conquest and blood. The important thing to note here is that Henry was the son of the third son of Edward III. Edward's 2nd son, Lionel, had legitimate male descendants that were in line to claim the throne should anything happen to Richard II. After 200 years of the line of kings passing without bloodshed to the next member in line, Henry IV's accession to the English crown set a dangerous precedent that anyone with a drop of legitimate royal blood can make a play for the throne. Between 1455 and 1487, the consequences of Henry IV's accession would play out. In 1455, Henry VI is on the throne, and he is not mentally there. His wife, Margaret, and his distant cousin, Richard the Duke of York, both vie for power to control England. Richard is the descendent of Edward III's fourth son on his father's side, but on his mother's side he is the legitimate heir of Lionel, Edward III's 2nd son. Eventually, Richard makes his claim to the English crown, not through his father's side, but through his mother's, saying that he and his children were the rightful rulers of England from male primogeniture from Edward III through Lionel. The resulting civil war is known as the Wars of the Roses, in which House Lancaster and House York would fight for the throne. The eventual victor of this conflict, Henry VII, was, by female descent through his mother, the last legitimate male heir from House Lancaster. He married the eldest daughter and current heir of Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, thus uniting the claims of House Lancaster and York. This event sees the House of York claiming the throne through Anne Mortimer, the heiress of Lionel's line, and, eventually, House Lancaster claim the throne through female descent as well.
Setting: Portugal 1580-1583. Background: The Cardinal Henry, great-uncle of Sebastian I of Portugal, became ruler in the immediate wake of Sebastian's death. Henry had served as regent for Sebastian after 1557, and succeeded him as King after the disastrous Battle of Alcåcer Quibir in 1578. Henry renounced his clerical offices and sought to take a bride for the continuation of the Aviz dynasty, but Pope Gregory XIII, affiliated with the Habsburgs, did not release him from his vows. The Cardinal-King died two years later, without having appointed a Council of Regency to choose a successor. In the wake of Henry's death, numerous people came forward with claims to the throne. By looking strictly at male primogenitor, an 11 year old Italian born boy named Ranuccio Farnese should have inherited the throne, as his mother was the eldest daughter of Henry's younger brother, however his age and his own father's support for another candidate took him out of the running. Anontio, Prior of Crato, was the bastard son of Henry's older brother, and he put his claim forth and actually reigned for a month before another candidate would topple him. Philip II of Spain was the son of Henry's eldest sister, Isabella. Philip had wealth, influence, and an army to back his claim up, and he managed to bring the aristocracy of Portugal to his side. For the aristocracy, a personal union with Spain would prove highly profitable for Portugal at a time when the state finances were suffering, and Philip II of Spain was invited by the aristocracy to also be Philip I of Portugal, thus uniting the Iberian Peninsula under one crown for a time.
Setting: Spain 1701-1714. Charles II of Spain succeeded his father Philip IV at the age of four in 1665. Subject to extended periods of ill-health for much of his life, the issue of his successor was a matter of diplomatic debate for decades, as he proved unable to father children. Unlike the crowns of France or Austria, that of Spain could be inherited through the female line. This allowed Charles' sisters Maria Theresa and Margaret Theresa to pass their rights onto the children of their respective marriages with Louis XIV of France and Emperor Leopold of the Holy Roman Empire. Leopold and Margaret's daughter Maria Antonia married Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria in 1685, and on 28 October 1692, they had a son, Joseph Ferdinand. Under the October 1698 Treaty of the Hague between France, Britain and the Dutch Republic, five-year-old Joseph was designated heir to Charles II; in return, France and Austria would receive parts of Spain's European territories. Unfortunately, Joseph Ferdinand's death from smallpox in February 1699 undid these arrangements. In 1685, Maria Antonia passed her claim to the Spanish throne onto Leopold's sons from his first marriage, Joseph and Archduke Charles, who also had a distant claim to the Spanish throne from Emperor Leopold's mother. Her right to do so was doubtful, but Louis XIV and William III of England used this to devise the 1700 Treaty of London. Archduke Charles became the new heir, while France, Savoy and Austria received territorial compensation; however, since neither Leopold nor Charles agreed, the treaty was largely pointless. By early October 1700, Charles II was dying; his final will left the throne to Louis XIV's grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou; if he refused, the offer would pass to his younger brother the Duke of Berry, followed by Archduke Charles. Charles died in 1700, and Spanish ambassadors formally offered the throne to Philip. Louis briefly considered refusing; although it meant the succession of Archduke Charles, insisting William help him enforce the Treaty of London meant he might achieve his territorial aims without fighting. However, his son the Dauphin rejected the idea; French diplomats also advised Austria would fight regardless, while neither the British nor Dutch would go to war for a settlement intended to avoid war. Louis therefore accepted on behalf of his grandson, who was proclaimed Philip V of Spain on 16 November 1700. A war, known as the War of Spanish Succession, would be fought over the Spanish throne between Philip and Archduke Charles and their respective allies. The point here being that a massive war was fought between two claimants who claimed the throne through female descent.
Through my examples I hope to illustrate one point: all these men fought wars for various thrones by claiming them through female descent. Any legitimate son or male descendant of Daenera can do the same. I assume that should TG win, Otto plans to get rid of Rhaenyra's sons, or forcing them to the Citadel or the Wall, thus preventing them from fathering legitimate children that can put a claim forth to the Iron Throne. However, Daenera is already married and pregnant, and any son or male descendant of hers can claim to be the legitimate king through Rhaenyra's line, with the added benefit of still having the Targaryen name and dragons. A man would also have an easier time getting support than a woman, as Stephen of Blois and Henry Plantagentet prove over Matilda. So in my mind, TG had better be praying that Daenera only has girls, and that those girls only have girls for a long time, because claims can still rear their heads hundreds of year later to cause problems, as the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses show.
Oh I definitely thing TG hopes that Daenera has daughters. It makes life easier if she did--and then they could marry those girls to Maelor or any other children Aegon/Helaena might have.
I think that's the general 'solution.' Have Daenera's children marry into Aegon's children. Make that family line round.
And if the precedent is set that girls cannot inherit, that would somewhat null Rhaenyra's claim which might lessen Daenera's as well. The same if Dae had boys--if they were to claim anything, then it'd be more through their father than their mother.
I thoroughly enjoy this history lesson. I especially enjoy war of the roses!
