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How Princess Diana’s Funeral Inspired House Of The Dragon’s Somber Procession
House of the Dragon Season 2’s somber funeral procession of Prince Jaehaerys was inspired by Princess Diana’s real-life funeral, blending historical grief with Westeros drama.
House of the Dragon Season 2 continues to be a fan-favorite with its intriguing storyline as it covers the rising bloodshed in the land of Westeros. The second episode of season 2 titled, Rhaenyra the Cruel, saw the chaos after the murder of Prince Jaehaerys. The episodes’ director Clare Kilner shared that the funeral of Prince Jaehaerys took inspiration from the real-life funeral of Princess Diana.
House of the Dragon Season 2 took inspiration from Princess Diana’s funeral
The second episode of season 2 is till now the longest-running episode of the season with a run time of 72 minutes. In the episode, King Aegon goes crazy to take revenge on Rhaenyra as he calls upon the small council meeting. Ser Otto however suggested a public funeral for Prince Jaehaerys to stain the image of Rhaenyra.
In the heartbreaking mourning procession, a herald chanted "Rhaenyra the Cruel", as the gathered masses mourned the loss of Prince Jaehaerys. The eyes center around Alicent and Helaena, who receive the people's condolences, amid their massive loss.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the director of episode 2, Clare Kilner revealed that the filming of Prince Jaehaerys’ somber procession took inspiration from Princess Diana’s funeral. Kilner admitted using the images of Diana’s funeral as a reference point to shoot the procession as he talked to the locals of Spain, where the scenes were shot, to understand how they mourn their personal grief.
“We shot so much footage for the funeral, and we thought, ‘Oh my goodness’, we’ve got to have that first beat before setting off on this procession, which is really heartbreaking and really hard. Alicent and Helaena had to deal with everyone watching and looking,” Kilner stated. “I speak to them to find out what personal experience of grief you’ve had, and to bring that with you and for everyone to really individualize it so that it’s not just one crowd doing one thing.”
ALSO READ: House Of The Dragon Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: Everything You Missed
Exploring the second episode of the House of the Dragons season 2
After the coverage of the heartbreaking somber procession, Queen Rhaenyra realizes that her public image has taken a big blow, forcing Daemon to fly to Harrenhal to bring on the table new alliances. Ser Criston on the other hand orders Ser Arryk to kill Rhaenyra by cunningly infiltrating Dragonstone and taking the place of his twin brother Ser Erryk, who serves as a member of the Queensguard.
Rhaenyra grants Mysaria her freedom, who while leaving the Dragonstone notices the infiltration of Arryk and informs a guard. As Arryk enters the Queen’s chambers to kill Rhaenyra, he is encountered with his brother who eventually ends up killing him. Overwhelmed with the grief of killing his own brother, Ser Erryk later took his own life.
King Aegon II Targaryen’s fire for revenge grows as he irrationally declares war on Rhaenyra and Dragonstone by hanging all the ratcatchers of King’s Landing, including Cheese. This action of Aegon forces Ser Otto Hightower to confront him as he fears a populist revolt. But bloodthirsty Aegon decides to replace Otto with Ser Criston as the new hand of the king.
The happenings in the first two episodes of season 2 of the House of the Dragon hint at the massive coming war. The third episode of the latest season, directed by Geeta Patel, will be released on June 30, 2024. The first two episodes of the series, House of the Dragon Season 2, can be streamed on Max.
ALSO READ: House Of The Dragon: How Did Targaryen's Divided Into The Blacks And The Greens Faction? Explored
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