Förhållandet mellan Aerys II och Rhaegar förvärras parallellt med hans växande galenskap och paranoia. Han blev misstänksam och misstro mot alla, inklusive sin egen son Rhaegar, som han misstänkte att plotta mot honom för att ta tronen.
Enligt World of Ice & Brand , Aerys II förlorade helt sin sanity efter händelserna som heter Defiance of Duskendale , när han fängdes av House Darklyn
Captivity at Duskendale had shattered whatever sanity had remained to Aerys II Targaryen. From that day forth, the king’s madness reigned unchecked, growing worse with every passing year.
[...]
Once safely returned to King’s Landing, His Grace refused to leave the Red Keep for any cause and remained a virtual prisoner in his own castle for the next four years, during which time he grew ever more wary of those around him, Tywin Lannister in particular. His suspicions extended even to his own son and heir. Prince Rhaegar, he was convinced, had conspired with Tywin Lannister to have him slain at Duskendale. They had planned to storm the town walls so that Lord Darklyn would put him to death, opening the way for Rhaegar to mount the Iron Throne and marry Lord Tywin’s daughter.
The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings. Aerys II chapter
Ett annat avsnitt som skiljer dem från var bröllopet mellan Rhagar och Elia Martell, som Aerys inte deltog, av rädsla för att bli mördad
Meanwhile, King Aerys was becoming ever more estranged from his own son and heir. Early in the year 279 AC, Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone, was formally betrothed to Princess Elia Martell, the delicate young sister of Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne. They were wed the following year, in a lavish ceremony at the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing, but Aerys II did not attend. He told the small council that he feared an attempt upon his life if he left the confines of the Red Keep, even with his Kingsguard to protect him. Nor would he allow his younger son, Viserys, to attend his brother’s wedding.
The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings. Aerys II chapter
Men förmodligen var händelsen som uppenbarades för alla deras skadade förhållande Great Tourney at Harrenhal , en av De viktigaste händelserna i den senaste Westerosi-historien, vars konsekvenser i grunden var i grunden allt som hände sedan dess. Domstolen var redan uppdelad i fraktioner som stödde antingen Aerys II eller Rhaegar, och Rhaegar troddes vara den verkliga ansvariga för turneringen, som han använde som ett medel för att samla likasinnade adelsmän för att ta itu med frågan om galenskapen i hans försämring far.
His lordship [Lord Whent] lacked the funds to pay such munificent prizes, they argued; someone else must surely have stood behind him, someone who did not lack for gold but preferred to remain in the shadows whilst allowing the Lord of Harrenhal to claim the glory for hosting this magnificent event. We have no shred of evidence that such a “shadow host” ever existed, but the notion was widely believed at the time and remains so today.
But if indeed there was a shadow, who was he, and why did he choose to keep his role a secret? A dozen names have been put forward over the years, but only one seems truly compelling: Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone.
[...]
The prince, it is said, had no interest in the tourney as a tourney; his intent was to gather the great lords of the realm together in what amounted to an informal Great Council, in order to discuss ways and means of dealing with the madness of his father, King Aerys II, possibly by means of a regency or a forced abdication.
The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons. The Year of the False Spring chapter
Tourneys seger av Rhaegar bidrog också till att höja misstankarna av kungen
Prince Rhaegar emerged as the ultimate victor at the end of the competition. The crown prince, who did not normally compete in tourneys, surprised all by donning his armor and defeating every foe he faced, including four knights of the Kingsguard. In the final tilt, he unhorsed Ser Barristan Selmy, generally regarded as the finest lance in all the Seven Kingdoms, to win the champion’s laurels.
The cheers of the crowd were said to be deafening, but King Aerys did not join them. Far from being proud and pleased by his heir’s skill at arms, His Grace saw it as a threat. Lords Chelsted and Staunton inflamed his suspicions further, declaring that Prince Rhaegar had entered the lists to curry favor with the commons and remind the assembled lords that he was a puissant warrior, a true heir to Aegon the Conqueror.
The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons. The Year of the False Spring chapter
Som vi vet har Tourney vid Harrenhal inlett all händelse som ledde till Roberts uppror och slutet på House Targaryens regel, så från och med den tiden skulle Aerys II och Rhaegar oroa sig mer om sina yttre fiender än att främja sina egna planer om varandra. Till sist slutade deras dåliga förhållande med sina egna liv.
Sammanfattningsvis kan vi säga att Aerys II och Rhaegar hade ett dåligt förhållande som härrörde från kungens galenskap, och det fortsatte att förvärras parallellt med försämringen av monarkens förhållanden. De adelsmän som fanns bakom dem båda, och som hade någonting att vinna från den ena, var också en faktor för att göra sitt dåliga förhållande ännu mer bittert och oroligt.