Green Council

This page is about the council. For other uses, see: The Green Council (disambiguation)

Green Council
Information
Type	Privy council Royal advisory body
Status	Active
Center	Red Keep, King's Landing
Leader	Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen, Protector of the Realm
Affiliation	King Aegon II Targaryen
Military strength	Greens
Founded	By 132 AC

"Then we may proceed now with the full assurance of his blessing on our long-laid plans."

―Tyland Lannister, referring to Viserys I Targaryen

The Green Council is the Small Council of King Aegon II Targaryen during the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. It was formed out of the Small Council of Aegon's predecessor, Viserys I Targaryen, which had come to be dominated by the Greens. Late in Viserys's reign, the Green Council secretly conspired to undermine Viserys's will by installing Aegon on the Iron Throne over his chosen heir, Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Composition

The Green Council was mostly composed of the members of King Viserys I Targaryen's Small Council at the time of his death. That council had come to be dominated by Greens, the court faction led by the Hightowers that supported Prince Aegon's claim to the Iron Throne over Princess Rhaenyra's. These included Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King and Prince Aegon's grandfather, Ser Tyland Lannister, Lord Jasper Wylde, and Grand Maester Orwyle, who together formed the initial conspiracy to secure Aegon's ascension.

Of the six men on that Small Council, only two remained openly loyal to Rhaenyra. One was Lord Lyman Beesbury, the old Master of Coin who had served at court for many years, and was determined to honor Viserys's will that Rhaenyra would succeed him on the throne. At the emergency Small Council meeting called by Otto upon Viserys's death, Beesbury alone refused to support Aegon's claim. In response to Beesbury's continued protests, Ser Criston Cole seized the old lord and shoved him into his seat, inadvertently killing him. The other was Ser Harrold Westerling, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, who refused to go along with the plot and left the Red Keep. Thereafter, Aegon's Small Council consisted only of the Green Council. Queen Alicent Hightower joined the council despite having been excluded from the initial conspiracy, while Ser Criston was named the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

Since the onset of the Dance of the Dragons, the council's composition has remained largely consistent, with Prince Aemond Targaryen joining the council at Aegon's insistence early on in the conflict. Still lacking a Master of Ships, the council proposed nominating Lord Dalton Greyjoy for the position, both as a means of securing House Greyjoy for the Greens and gaining access to the Iron Fleet for assistance in breaking the Blacks' blockade of the Gullet, although this suggestion was not followed through. The first shakeup in the council's membership would occur when Otto was dismissed as Hand by Aegon II, subsequently replaced by Ser Criston Cole. After Aegon II was rendered incapacitated following the Battle at Rook's Rest, the Green Council nominated Aemond to serve as regent and was granted the title Protector of the Realm, effectively making him the leader of both the council and the Greens as a whole.

Members

At the outset of the Dance of the Dragons:

• Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen
• Hand of the King:
  • Ser Otto Hightower
  • Ser Criston Cole
• Master of Coin: Ser Tyland Lannister
• Master of Laws: Lord Jasper Wylde
• Master of Whisperers: Lord Larys Strong
• Grand Maester: Orwyle
• Lord Commander of the Kingsguard: Ser Criston Cole
• Queen Dowager Alicent Hightower

In the books

In Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin, the Green Council is composed of many of the same figures. However, Ser Criston Cole and Lord Larys Strong also sit on the Green Council from the beginning, as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and the master of whisperers, respectively, as Ser Harrold Westerling is already dead by this time in the books. Furthermore, Queen Alicent Hightower is depicted as having been part of the Green Council from its inception, having convened the council alongside her father, Ser Otto Hightower, as opposed to having been excluded from its conception as portrayed in the television adaptation House of the Dragon.

External links

• Greens#Green Council on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for House of the Dragon)