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- "Lord Eddard Stark is herein named Protector of the Realm. To rule as regent until the heir come of age."
- ―Barristan Selmy
A regent[1] is a person who rules in the name of a king, queen, lord, or lady because the rightful ruler is a child, incapacitated, absent, or otherwise incapable of ruling with any degree of force. When ruling in the name of a child, the regent's rule ends when the heir reaches adulthood. In the Seven Kingdoms, the legal age of adulthood is 16 years old.
When a regent rules in the name of the king, he or she may also hold the title of Protector of the Realm. A royal regent also holds a seat in the Small Council, taking the place of the young monarch. While a regent functionally rules in place of an underage monarch, only the actual ruler and the Hand of the King may sit on the Iron Throne itself. For this reason, Cersei Lannister sits on a gilded chair at the foot of the throne when she serves as regent for her son Joffrey.
If a king dies and the queen mother acts as regent for their child, she is known as the queen regent. Since a regency, by definition, requires a king's death, the title "king regent" is never used; a male acting as regent for a king would hold the title "lord regent". Regents for regular lordships may be called "lord (lady) protector" or "lord (lady) regent". Petyr Baelish, for example, was named Lord Protector of the Vale of Arryn for Robin Arryn following the death of his mother Lysa.
References[]
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 7: "You Win or You Die" (2011).
External links[]
- Regent on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for House of the Dragon)
- Regent on Wikipedia