House of the Dragon: How does Alicent Hightower die in the books?

House Of The Dragon has captivated viewers following its triumphant return after an 18-month hiatus.

With the anticipation building ahead of the release of its fourth episode on Sky Atlantic and HBO, fans have been driven by curiosity to discover how their favourite characters meet their fate in the book series that inspired the TV adaptation.

How does Alicent Hightower die in the House Of The Dragon books?

In George RR Martin's debut book of the House Of The Dragon series, Fire And Blood, Alicent Hightower doesnt exactly enjoy a fairy tale ending.

Her tragic journey begins when Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen captures King's Landing and condemns Alicent's father, Otto Hightower, for his treasonous deeds.

Rhaenyra decides to spare the lives of Ottos daughter, Alicent, and granddaughter, Helaena, albeit sentencing them to imprisonment. Whereas she survives the war depicted in the novel, Alicents ultimate demise doesn't resonate with the dramatic fates met by other character; there is no dragonic execution or brutal assassination.

Rather, she endures a life of solitude within the confines of her tower cell, tortured by the loss of her children until she eventually dies from a deadly bout of Winter Fever.

As the book narrates: "She had outlived all of her children and spent the last year of her life confined to her apartments, with no company but her septa, the serving girls who brought her food, and the guards outside her door".

In the book Fire And Blood, Martin discloses how Alicent's mental health deteriorates in her final years of imprisonment, when she begins "talking to herself" and develops "a deep aversion to the colour green" which she wore for most of her life.

Prior to her death, Alicent expresses a longing to see her children again, suggesting to readers that she is ready to die at this point.

Given the prospect of TV adaptation, House Of The Dragon may need to decide whether to follow the same plot or alter it in its second season.