Arwen Undómiel, the daughter of Elrond and Queen of Middle-Earth’s Reunited Kingdom, met her end many years after the events of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King despite being a member of the immortal race of Elves. Arwen played an important role in the overall quest to destroy the One Ring in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie series, although her path was slightly different in J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novels. She was still an important figure in the evolution of Middle-Earth before and after the War of the Ring.

Arwen and Aragorn’s relationship is a fixture in the overall story of The Lord of the Rings, and the price of their love was one that Arwen herself had to pay. By committing herself to Aragorn, she elected a mortal life, forsaking her immortality and her position on the ships to Valinor in the Undying Lands. Frodo Baggins was allowed into the Undying Lands in her place, and Arwen remained in Middle-Earth until her death in the year 121 of the Fourth Age. As beautiful as her commitment to Aragorn was, it made her death seem all the more tragic.

Arwen Died Of A Broken Heart Following Aragorn’s Death

Her love for Aragorn led to her end

As seen in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Arwen traveled to Minas Tirith following the destruction of the One Ring and Aragorn’s coronation as the king of the newly unified kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. Arwen and Aragorn were married in the same year that the One Ring was destroyed, the year 3019 of the Third Age. At the time of their wedding, Arwen was 2,779 years old, while Aragorn was 88 years old–his life extended by his Dúnedain heritage. At that moment, Arwen became the Queen of the Reunited Kingdom, and ruled at Aragorn’s side until his death.

Aragorn finally died at the age of 210, after 122 years ruling as King of the Reunited Kingdom. Following his death, Arwen went on to live for another year, eventually making her way to Lórien, the forest kingdom once ruled by her grandmother, Galadriel. It was there, on the mound of Cerin Amroth where she and Aragorn first committed themselves to one another, that Arwen died of a broken heart at 2,901 years of age.

Why Arwen Lost Her Elven Immortality

She lost her immortality when she committed herself to Aragorn

Arwen’s immortality was lost when she committed herself to Aragorn in the realm of Lórien many years before the events of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. She actually followed in the footsteps of one of her ancestors, Lúthien, who made a similar choice to love a mortal man despite the immortal life she knew as a member of the Elven race. Arwen plainly stated her desire to stay in Middle-Earth and acknowledged her ancestor’s choice in Tolkien’s original Return of the King:

I shall not go with him when he departs to the Havens: for mine is the choice of Lúthien, and as she so have I chosen, both the sweet and the bitter.

Arwen herself was half-Elf and half-human, just as her father was. Given that mix of ancestry, the choice falls to the individual on how they wish to live. While her father chose to live as an elf, Arwen was able to choose to live as a mortal so that she might remain with Aragorn as opposed to leaving Middle-Earth for the Undying Lands.

How Many Children Arwen and Aragorn Had After Lord Of The Rings

Only one of their children is ever given a name

During the Fourth Age and during their time as the King and Queen of the Reunited Kingdom, Aragorn and Arwen had several children. Only one is named: their son Eldarion, who was born in the first year of the Fourth Age. Peter Jackson chose to make Eldarion a part of Arwen’s vision of her own potential future in the cinematic The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, played by Sadwyn Brophy. Eldarion had an extended youth and a long life like a full-blooded Elf, but he was not born with the ability to choose his own mortality.

The appendices of The Lord of the Rings mention that Arwen and Aragorn had at least two other children, both daughters. There is no evidence of any children beyond that in Tolkien’s official writings, although the topic of Aragorn and Arwen’s daughters and their names is not uncommon in Lord of the Rings fan-fiction circles. There are no details available about whether they were able to choose their own mortality like their mother Arwen did, which led to her death more than a century after the events of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.