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Do the Kingsguard protect the royal family or just the King?


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15 minutes ago, Prince Jon Targaryen said:

I was wondering, do the Kingsuard only ever guard the king? Can they be assigned to or guard a prince or princess or a member of the royal family?

They can be assigned to protect or do whatever the king commands.

At one point during Robert's Rebellion only Jaime was with the king, while Jonothor Darry, Barristan Selmy, and Lewyn Martell went with Rhaegar to the Trident, and Oswell Whent, Arthur Dayne, and Gerold Hightower were down south.

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The King, who may or may not have them protect their families as well. Or so ser Barry tells us.

ADwD, The Queensguard

The first duty of the Kingsguard was to defend the king from harm or threat. The white knights were sworn to obey the king’s commands as well, to keep his secrets, counsel him when counsel was requested and keep silent when it was not, serve his pleasure and defend his name and honor. Strictly speaking, it was purely the king’s choice whether or not to extend Kingsguard protection to others, even those of royal blood. Some kings thought it right and proper to dispatch Kingsguard to serve and defend their wives and children, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins of greater and lesser degree, and occasionally even their lovers, mistresses, and bastards. But others preferred to use household knights and men-at-arms for those purposes, whilst keeping their seven as their own personal guard, never far from their sides.”

  

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We get quite a few kings who actually reserved Kingsguard protection for themselves. King Robert was one such, not extending KG protection to his children or brothers, and it is questionable whether he technically included Cersei into it. Joffrey's sworn shield was Sandor Clegane, and Myrcella and Tommen didn't have any until Tyrion assigned Ser Arys Oakheart to Myrcella.

Rhaenyra's sworn shield was Ser Criston Cole, for a time, but after they broke up Ser Harwin Strong became her sworn shield, not a man of the Kingsguard. During the Dance King Aegon II reserved Kingsguard protection for his royal person, too, not extending it to Queen Helaena and his own children. Kingsguard are only assigned to them when the royal family splits up in the wake of Rhaenyra taking the city.

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23 hours ago, kissdbyfire said:

The King, who may or may not have them protect their families as well. Or so ser Barry tells us.

ADwD, The Queensguard

Thank you for the quote.

Useful :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

All family members, but not bastards, mistresses or kidnapped maidens. That's what causes the theory that Rhaegar married Lyanna: he wasn't at the Tower of Joy but Lyanna and Jon were and the Kingsguard protected them.

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1 hour ago, Arin said:

All family members, but not bastards, mistresses or kidnapped maidens. That's what causes the theory that Rhaegar married Lyanna: he wasn't at the Tower of Joy but Lyanna and Jon were and the Kingsguard protected them.

It's the king who decides whether the KG protection is extended to family members. 

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3 hours ago, Arin said:

All family members, but not bastards, mistresses or kidnapped maidens. That's what causes the theory that Rhaegar married Lyanna: he wasn't at the Tower of Joy but Lyanna and Jon were and the Kingsguard protected them.


Which part of the quote genereously supplied by Kissedbyfire

Quote

Some kings thought it right and proper to dispatch Kingsguard to serve and defend their wives and children, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins of greater and lesser degree, and occasionally even their lovers, mistresses, and bastards.

 

do you find difficult to understand?

 

 

 

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On 7/21/2017 at 6:21 PM, kissdbyfire said:

The King, who may or may not have them protect their families as well. Or so ser Barry tells us.

ADwD, The Queensguard

The first duty of the Kingsguard was to defend the king from harm or threat. The white knights were sworn to obey the king’s commands as well, to keep his secrets, counsel him when counsel was requested and keep silent when it was not, serve his pleasure and defend his name and honor. Strictly speaking, it was purely the king’s choice whether or not to extend Kingsguard protection to others, even those of royal blood. Some kings thought it right and proper to dispatch Kingsguard to serve and defend their wives and children, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins of greater and lesser degree, and occasionally even their lovers, mistresses, and bastards. But others preferred to use household knights and men-at-arms for those purposes, whilst keeping their seven as their own personal guard, never far from their sides.”

  

I was coming here to say this but I figured (and was right) that someone else did first.

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14 hours ago, TMIFairy said:


Which part of the quote genereously supplied by Kissedbyfire

do you find difficult to understand?

 

 

 

The king at the time was Aerys the Mad King. I don't think that he cared for Rhaegar's personal life or his ideas about prophecies so much that he would extend the Kingsguard's protection like that.

 

Rhaegar might provide such an extension if he could, but he could not, for the extremely obvious reason that he was no king.

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On 21.07.2017 at 10:16 PM, Prince Jon Targaryen said:

I was wondering, do the Kingsuard only ever guard the king? Can they be assigned to or guard a prince or princess or a member of the royal family?

Huh?

We have seen several times the KG knights delegated to protect this or that prince or princess. Boros Blount charged with (and failing at) protecting Tommen in ACOK, Arys Oakheart, and later Balon Swann, for Myrcella, the detail of white cloaks looking after the bunch of Targ princes at Ashford. And Jaime's exchange with - Oswell Whent, maybe? - about their duties concerning the queen ("We're supposed to protect her, too, aren't we?" - "Yes, but not from him [the king]").

So, yes, protection of the royal family is well within the KG's duties.

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26 minutes ago, Ferocious Veldt Roarer said:

Huh?

We have seen several times the KG knights delegated to protect this or that prince or princess. Boros Blount charged with (and failing at) protecting Tommen in ACOK, Arys Oakheart, and later Balon Swann, for Myrcella, the detail of white cloaks looking after the bunch of Targ princes at Ashford. And Jaime's exchange with - Oswell Whent, maybe? - about their duties concerning the queen ("We're supposed to protect her, too, aren't we?" - "Yes, but not from him [the king]").

So, yes, protection of the royal family is well within the KG's duties.

It can be. Or not. It's up to the king .

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20 minutes ago, Ferocious Veldt Roarer said:

So, yes, protection of the royal family is well within the KG's duties.

Only if the kings extends it to her. A Kingsguard could not say 'I prefer to guard the queen instead of doing what the king has commanded me to do instead'. And there are kings who didn't extend Kingsguard protection to their queens, Aegon II, for instance. He restricted KG protection to his royal person until the fall of King's Landing.

We see this with Selmy in Meereen. Daenerys is his queen, but his Kingsguard vow does not compel him to extend Queensguard protection to Dany's king consort Hizdahr zo Loraq, never mind what Jaehaerys II, Aerys II or Robert Baratheon might have preferred. Dany didn't give him any commands regarding Hizdahr. And thus Selmy could decide to turn against him.

If it is clear that king has included his wife and children or siblings into KG protection a KG might be able to make some sort of hierarchy in his mind - first ensure the king is safe, then the queen, then the other members of the royal family, or something of that sort. Assuming a KG ever has the freedom to make such choices - usually the king, the Hand, or the royal family would made them for them.

7 hours ago, Arin said:

The king at the time was Aerys the Mad King. I don't think that he cared for Rhaegar's personal life or his ideas about prophecies so much that he would extend the Kingsguard's protection like that.

Aerys II clearly included his son and heir Rhaegar into Kingsguard protection at one point in both their lives, and it seems he either never revoked that privilege or never properly enforced it the fact that he did revoke it at one point. Dayne and Whent were Rhaegar's best buddies, apparently, and stayed with him throughout his life. One assumes one of them was his official sworn shield.

I think one can make sense of that when one considers Aerys' erratic behavior towards Tywin. He grew to resent the man, humiliated him, feared him - but he didn't dismiss or kill him. It may have been similar with Rhaegar - Aerys mistrusted him and grew suspicious about him but allowed him to keep Dragonstone and KG protection all the same.

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3 hours ago, Ralphis Baratheon said:

Couldn't the King order a member of his KG to protect his pet hawk if he felt so inclined? Could the KG member refuse him if he did?

Boros Blount is currently  a full-time food taster.  I'd say anything is possible.

*edited because the show got me confused*

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22 minutes ago, LindsayLohan said:

Boros Blount is currently  a full-time food taster,

Yeah, he is getting pudgey if I remember correctly. 

22 minutes ago, LindsayLohan said:

and Meryn Trant is in Braavos guarding the not-bright Master of Coin.  I'd say anything is possible.

Is he? 

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