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This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 
For other uses, see Royal Guard (disambiguation).
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"Those were Imperial Guards, Lando. The Emperor's personal protectors—handpicked from the very best of his forces. Out of millions of soldiers, they are unsurpassed."
―Korin Pers, to Lando Calrissian[12]

The Emperor's Royal Guard, also named the Imperial Royal Guard and Imperial Guard, alternatively identified as the Crimson Guard, and known under the Galactic Republic as the Red Guard, were the personal bodyguards to the Galactic Emperor and formerly the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. In addition to strict requirements of size, strength, intelligence, and loyalty, only the most skilled soldiers in the Imperial Military qualified for duty in the Royal Guard. The Imperial Royal Guard were also occasionally assigned to provide protection to members of the Imperial Ruling Council, such as Mas Amedda and Darth Vader.

The origins of the crimson-clad Royal Guard dated back to the time of the Separatist Crisis, when the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, in his public guise as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, crafted an order of protectors, named the Red Guard, for the Office of the Chancellor, that stood apart from the cerulean-clad Senate Guard during the Galactic Republic's twilight. Over the course of the Clone Wars, the Red Guard gradually supplanted the Senate Guard and its elite sub-unit, the Senate Commandos, as the chancellor's bodyguards. By the end of the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious proclaimed himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire. As a result, Senate Guards were completely phased out of service and replaced by the chancellor's Red Guards, who were henceforth known as the Royal Guard.

Darth Sidious sealed himself away from the populace throughout his reign. On the rare occasions of his public appearances, he was always accompanied by members of the Royal Guard. In the decades that followed Sidious' death and the subsequent fall of the Empire at the Battle of Jakku, a new order of protectors was crafted by Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order. Modeled on the Emperor's Royal Guard and Imperial Praetorian Guard, the Elite Praetorian Guard consisted of eight warriors who wore ornate crimson armor, wielded an array of melee weapons, and specialized in martial arts, such as Teräs Käsi. Likewise, the reborn Darth Sidious revived his employment of crimson-clad guardsmen through the Sovereign Protectors, selected from the finest Sith troopers the Sith Eternal had readied.

Description[]

Royal Guard RO

Royal Guards wore red robes and armor, and were armed with force pikes.

The Emperor's Royal Guards were reputedly the most skilled warriors in the forces of the Galactic Empire; out of millions of soldiers, Darth Sidious' guards were unsurpassed in skill and status.[12] During the era of the Empire, the Royal Guard consisted of conscripts and at least one clone trooper.[3] The qualifications for joining the Guard's ranks included strength, intelligence, and loyalty.[13] Candidates for the Guard had to meet the basic height requirement of 1.83 meters.[1]

In addition to receiving advanced training in many forms of combat, Royal Guards were trained to be unquestionably loyal to their Emperor, Darth Sidious. The Emperor's word was considered law and his guards would obey his orders without question or hesitation, even if it meant killing one of their own. The Guards were also among the few beings in the galaxy whom the Emperor trusted with the knowledge of his secret identity as a Sith Lord, knowing they would speak of it to no one, not even among themselves.[3] Trainees would spar against each other in the The Squall. Their final test was a battle to the death before the Emperor.[14] Though their primary duty was to the Emperor, in some cases the Royal Guards were also at the disposal of his right hand, Darth Vader,[15] who acted as the Imperial Military's informal Commander-in-Chief,[16] and Grand Vizier Mas Amedda.[17] Other upper-level figures who made of use of the Royal Guards included General Jylia Shale,[7] as well as Grand Admiral Rae Sloane.[18] Due to their little movement, they were sometimes believed to have been droids instead of individuals.[11]

Royal-Guard-Alt

A Royal Guard with another set of equipment.

Despite the combat skills of the Royal Guard, the Emperor was confident in his Force powers to the extent that he did not believe he required a bodyguard unit. However, he found over the course of his reign that the crimson-clad guards served well to impress and intimidate those who saw them. Additionally, they served the purpose of defending the Emperor in situations where he did not wish to use his Force powers.[3] As such, he never felt inclined to dispense with them as a unit.[19] Sidious also made use of a droid model that resembled his Royal Guards, sending the droids to summon politicians he needed to meet with.[20]

History[]

Under the Republic[]

During the decline of the Galactic Republic, Sith Lord Darth Sidious, as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, created[13] the Red Guard[21]—a cohort of personal elite bodyguards that stood apart from the rest of his forces, including the cerulean-clad members of the Senate Guard,[13] from which they were handpicked.[11] Over time, Palpatine came to favor his crimson-clad red guards over the blue guards of the Galactic Senate and even the elite Senate Commandos.[22] Armed with force pikes,[5] the red guards' flowing red robes and sleek, featureless scarlet masks blended in with the crimson-walled office of the chancellor.[13]

PalpatineRedGuard-TWJ

During the fall of the Republic, the Supreme Chancellor was protected by a cohort of crimson-clad guards, the Red Guard.

The red-robed guards were formed prior to the Clone Wars[5] and were in place by 28 BBY,[9] with the newly-appointed Senator Padmé Amidala noting that they were a much more intimidating security force than the Senate Guard,[23] though Palpatine retained the service of the Senate Guard[24] and commandos during the early period of the pan-galactic conflict.[25] After Captain Faro Argyus of the Senate Commandos revealed himself to be a traitor, the Senate Guard's loyalty was put into question, and Palpatine took the opportunity to expand the Red Guard in the ensuing scandal. When Red Guards were out of uniform, they conducted official visits and covert operations in locations where the Supreme Chancellor was scheduled to visit. The Red Guard also scouted traveling locations, back up routes, handled logistics, and created evacuation plans. On Coruscant, such events may have required thousands of hours of work. The Guard also investigated credible threats against Palpatine, whether they be simply graffiti to HoloNet broadcasts.[11]

By 19 BBY, approximately three years after the First Battle of Geonosis,[26] the Red Guard and Coruscant Guard clone shock troopers had all but supplanted the Senate Guard as the chancellor's protectors.[27]

Serving the Emperor[]

Emperor Sidious Guards SWTDS

On rare occasions the Emperor could be seen in public, but always in the presence of his Royal Guards.

By the war's end[28] in 19 BBY,[26] Darth Sidious declared himself Emperor of the galaxy and thereby transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire.[28] Under the new government, the Emperor continued to favor the Imperial Royal Guard, formerly the chancellor's Red Guard, as his personal security force which, in turn, led to the dissolution of the Senate Guard.[1] During the first days of Sidious' reign, the bodyguards were responsible for the Emperor's security on the galactic capital world of Coruscant. Off-world, however, the Emperor was accompanied by a detachment of shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard.[28] During the Clone War, Sidious had also secretly controlled the Thyrsus Sun Guard mercenary group, which fought for the Republic during the conflict. The Sun Guard helped to inspire his Royal Guard as Emperor.[29]

As the years passed, Sidious sealed himself away from the populace, having discarded his facade as a friendly, kind-hearted politician[13] in order to fully embrace his true identity as a Dark Lord of the Sith.[1] On rare occasions he would make a public appearance, but always in the company of the Royal Guard.[13] During the early years of the Empire, a division of the Royal Guard was stationed in the Inquisitorius Headquarters—a skyscraper located in the Industrial District of Coruscant—which served as a training facility for the Emperor's Jedi hunters, known as the Inquisitorius.[30] In 14 BBY,[26] several Royal Guards accompanied Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Darth Vader, to Ryloth where the Lords of the Sith sought to lure the Free Ryloth Movement out of hiding. Most of the guardsmen were killed when Vader's shuttle crash-landed in the planet's equatorial forest.[3]

Starwarsrebelsroyalguard

A trio of light-armored Royal Guards served aboard the Chimaera.

Two guards, Sergeant Erstin Deez and a captain who once served in the Grand Army of the Republic as a clone trooper, survived the crash along with Vader and his Sith Master, Sidious. The captain was later killed by lyleks, but Deez was able to survive long enough for Moff Delian Mors' Imperial troops to rescue the Sith.[3] A trio of Royal Guards, without their common robes, were stationed aboard the Chimaera, flagship of the Seventh Fleet led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, during the liberation of Lothal. The Emperor commanded the men to execute Padawan Ezra Bridger, having failed to use the young Jedi in his plan to control the World Between Worlds. Using modified pikes with magnetic clamps to subdue their Force-sensitive target, the guards held Bridger still while a squad of stormtroopers attempted to shoot him. However, Bridger used the Force to hurl several boulders and rocks from a stolen piece of the Lothal Jedi Temple at his attackers, crushing them.[6]

Although the Emperor's safety was the primary responsibility of the Royal Guard,[1] Sidious did not make exclusive use of them, loaning them also to Vader. By 0 BBY,[31] two Royal Guards were stationed in Fortress Vader on Mustafar.[15] They acted as sentinels protecting the Emperor's lieutenant, usually while he rested in his bacta tank.[15] During the Galactic Civil War, Guards were often used in battle as assassins,[32] armed with force pikes, vibroblades, and many other concealed weapons.[3]

Royal-Guards-Lando2

Stationed aboard the Imperialis, two Royal Guards were corrupted by the Mask of Lord Momin.

Following the Battle of Yavin, two Royal Guards were stationed aboard the Emperor's luxury yacht Imperialis while it was undergoing a refit at Sienar Fleet Systems' Orbital Shipyard CC-24 above the planet Castell.[33] They guarded the vessel's central chamber which stored several Sith artifacts including the mask of Lord Momin.[34] After Lando Calrissian and his companions stole the Imperialis, one of the guards stabbed Lobot with a vibroblade,[33] but he survived. The guards were then killed by the alien clone warriors Aleksin and Pavol. Korin Pers discovered that the guards had been corrupted by the dark side of the Force, as they had been guarding the Mask of Lord Momin.[12] In the same year, a special variant was in service of Commander Karbin featuring a distinctive look. These variants wore armor fitted for combat in the front lines.[35]

During the secret war against the Sith[2] between 3 ABY and 4 ABY,[36] the assassin Ochi was employed by Lady Qi'ra of Crimson Dawn to assassinate members of the guard in order to cause disruption in the Empire. Ochi and a courier droid travelled to Coruscant and bought poison that would activate at a specific time. The droid used to poison the guard's breakfast but discovered that one of the guards, Erstin Deez was not present. Ochi took it upon himself to assassinate Deez. Afterwards while the guards were with the Emperor at his throne room in the Imperial Palace, all of them dropped dead due to the poison.[2]

Sometime after the deaths of those guards, two other guards stood behind Darth Sidious after he had summoned Vader to the Imperial Palace, as the Emperor had concluded an enemy was working against the Sith in specific. When Director Barsha of the Imperial Security Bureau was summoned into the room, Barsha revealed that Crimson Dawn had orchestrated the ongoing Syndicate War. As Vader and Sidious walked through the palace and discussed Crimson Dawn's influence, a force of guards accompanied them as protection. Stopping in the hall along with the two Sith, the guards remained as Vader revealed that Qi'ra, during their duel aboard on the Crimson Dawn flagship Vermillion, had combat training that reminded him of Sidious's own techniques, leading both to conclude she had been trained by Sidious's first apprentice, Darth Maul. In response, the two Sith Lords ordered the entire Imperial Military to track down the Vermillion.[37]

Imperial-formation-Vader-kneels

Royal Guards escorted the Emperor to the Death Star II, where their sovereign would ultimately die.

To finally destroy Crimson Dawn, Royal Guards later fought alongside death troopers and their two Sith masters in the battle at the Amaxine Station.[38] In 4 ABY,[26] several Royal Guards accompanied the Emperor to the second Death Star orbiting the forest moon of Endor. Prior to the arrival of the Rebel Alliance Fleet, the Emperor dismissed the Guards from his throne room, leaving Sidious alone with Vader and the latter's son, the Jedi-aspirant Luke Skywalker. As a result, the guards were not present to protect the Emperor when his apprentice turned against him in a last-ditch effort to save his son's life. With the deaths of both Sidious and Vader, coupled with the victory of the Alliance, the Battle of Endor was a turning point that marked the beginning of the end for the Empire.[39]

Royal Guards were stationed at the Palpatine Archive in the Coruscant system, and attempted to stop the thieving Calrissian and Jaxxon, who were after the Totem of Saglanost shortly after the Empire's debacle at Endor.[8]

Decline[]

Battle of Jakku

A Royal Guard fought and died on Jakku, the site of the last battle of the Galactic Civil War.

The Royal Guard continued to serve the Empire, acting as bodyguards for several high-ranking Imperial officers such as General Jylia Shale and Grand Admiral Rae Sloane. Two Royal Guardsmen acted as Shale's security detail at the emergency summit on Akiva;[7] another two Guards escorted Sloane to the New Republic capital of Chandrila[18] in 5 ABY,[40] where the Grand Admiral sought to negotiate an end to hostilities between the Empire and Republic. To Sloane's surprise, the Empire's overtures of peace were a ruse for launching a surprise attack on Chandrila, orchestrated by Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax. During the attack, Sloane's Royal Guards attacked and killed several New Republic Senate Guards who escorted the Imperial entourage to the peace summit.[18]

Shortly after the attack on Chandrila, a the Empire rallied to the barren world of Jakku under Rax's leadership as Counselor to the Empire.[41] One of the soldiers in Rax's army was a Royal Guard, who ultimately perished during the Battle of Jakku. The guard who fell at Jakku was survived by his sister, Arliz Hadrassian, an agent of the Imperial Security Bureau.[42]

Legacy[]

Around 9 ABY,[43] the Shadow Council, the ruling body of the Imperial Remnant,[44] directed a unit of elite warriors known as the Imperial Praetorian Guard, whose red gear was a deliberate callback to the Emperor's guard.[45] However, they also possessed helmets with a design similar to Mandalorian armor.[44] During the Cold War between the Resistance and the First Order, Agent Terex of the First Order Security Bureau had possession of a Royal Guard helmet aboard the Carrion Spike that was displayed next to the helmets of a shoretrooper, an AT-AT pilot, a death trooper, and others, along with a custom set of armor.[46] By 28 ABY,[26] Hadrassian had sold her late brother's Royal Guard helmet to Senator Ransolm Casterfo, a New Republic senator with pro-Imperial views.[42]

Elite Praetorian Guard mural Fathead

Inspired by the Emperor's Royal Guard, the Elite Praetorian Guard served as personal bodyguards of Supreme Leader Snoke.

The legacy of the Emperor's Royal Guard inspired the formation of the Elite Praetorian Guard, whose armor[47] also resembled that of the Imperial Praetorian Guard.[44] Like the royal protectors who guarded Sidious during his reign over the Empire, the Praetorians functioned as the elite personal bodyguards of Supreme Leader Snoke, ruler of the First Order. Consisting of eight sentinels trained to protect the Supreme Leader from any threat, the Praetorians were equipped with various melee weapons and ornate crimson armor deliberately echoing the equipment used by the Royal Guard.[47] In 34 ABY, the Praetorians attacked Rey and Kylo Ren after the latter assassinated Snoke, resulting in a battle in which all eight guards were killed by the Master of the Knights of Ren and his new Jedi ally, allowing the former to take the Supreme Leader title.[48]

By 35 ABY,[49] when the reborn Darth Sidious resurfaced on the ancient Sith world of Exegol, the Sovereign Protector had taken over the role as the Emperor's Guard.[50] The rank of these sentinels was solely bestowed upon the most proficient of Sith troopers, zealous soldiers brought up by the Sith Eternal[50] to help impose the Dark Lord's vision of a new Sith Empire. When Rey and Ben confronted Sidious during the Battle of Exegol, the Sovereign Protectors attempted to protect their master, but were killed by the two Jedi.[51]

Equipment[]

"What's your name? And why do you wear that…suit?"
"My name is Sergeant, and it's my honor to wear this armor."
―Ryloth resident Drua questions Royal Guard Erstin Deez[3]
ElectrostaffGuard-SWL

A Royal Guard wielding an electrostaff

Royal Guards were completely covered in flowing blood-red robes and featureless scarlet masks that concealed their faces.[28] There existed a variant of the uniform that lacked the robes and ceremonial helmet in favor of light armor, utilized by guards aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera[6] and the guards accompanying the Emperor during the battle at the Amaxine Space Station.[38] They wielded electrostaffs[52] and force pikes, a staff-like weapon[53] with a vibro-edged head.[54] Additionally, their robes hid a heavy blaster pistol, a vibroblade, and various other weaponry.[3]

When on the battlefield, Royal Guards would abandon their traditional weapons in favor of an arsenal better suited for combat, including the T-21 light repeating blaster, Smart Rocket, and the homing shot.[55]

Behind the scenes[]

The Guard first appeared in the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Their design came from sketches by Nilo Rodis-Jamero. The conceptual drawings varied from centurion-like warriors to priest-like monks, but a common thread tying those designs together was the deep red hue.[56]

In the 2016 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, during the prologue's adaptation of Return of the Jedi, the Royal Guards were not dismissed by the Emperor, and instead actively defended the Sith when Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader turned against him. However, the Royal Guardsmen were ultimately no match for the two, allowing for the literal overthrowing of the Sith, afterwhich the Guards witnessed the redeemed Vader, who had sustained much injuries during the battle, express love in his final moments to his Jedi son, during which one Guard collapsed into tears to the emotional exchange, much to the annoyance of Luke Skywalker, as the other Guardsmen gave psychological support.[57]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 StarWars-DatabankII Imperial Royal Guard in the Databank (backup link)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Crimson Reign 2
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Lords of the Sith
  4. StarWarsLCG Logo Star Wars: The Card GameA Wretched Hive (Card: Imperial Senate Guard) (backup link)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Family Reunion – and Farewell"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Aftermath
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 IDWStarWarsAdventuresLogoSmaller "Hare-Brained Heist" — Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019
  9. 9.0 9.1 Padmé Amidala notes in Queen's Shadow that Sheev Palpatine had recently formed a red-robed guard. Since that book takes place four years after the Invasion of Naboo, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 32 BBY, it can be deduced that the Royal Guard were founded no later than 28 BBY.
  10. StarWars-DatabankII Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in the Databank (backup link)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Rise of the Separatists
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lando 3
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 StarWars Emperor's Royal Guard in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
  14. "The Emperor's Red Guards" — From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  16. Bust-Collection-Logo Star Wars Bust Collection 30 (Star Wars Universe: The Emperor's Inner Circle)
  17. Darth Vader (2020) 1
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Aftermath: Life Debt
  19. Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
  20. Doctor Aphra (2016) 31
  21. Star Wars: Complete Locations
  22. StarWars Senate Guard in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
  23. Queen's Shadow
  24. TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back"
  25. Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  27. TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Orders"
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  29. Collapse of the Republic
  30. Darth Vader (2017) 6
  31. Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
  32. Star Wars: Commander
  33. 33.0 33.1 Lando 2
  34. Lando 4
  35. Star Wars (2015) 14
  36. The events of Crimson Reign 2, including the assassination of the Emperor's Royal Guard, take place after the Escape from Cloud City and before the Rescue of Han Solo, which are dated to 3 ABY and 4 ABY, respectively, by Star Wars: Galactic Atlas.
  37. Crimson Reign 5
  38. 38.0 38.1 Hidden Empire 4
  39. Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  40. Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Aftermath: Life Debt to 5 ABY.
  41. Aftermath: Empire's End
  42. 42.0 42.1 Bloodline
  43. Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" and "Chapter 16: The Rescue" to 9 ABY. The events of Chapters 1–16 must therefore also take place in 9 ABY, and the events of Chapters 17–24 must take place around that year as well.
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 The-Mandalorian-logo The Mandalorian — "Chapter 23: The Spies"
  45. SideshowLogo2021 Sixth Scale Figures (Pack: Imperial Praetorian Guard) (backup link)
  46. Poe Dameron 8
  47. 47.0 47.1 StarWars-DatabankII Elite Praetorian Guard in the Databank (backup link)
  48. Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
  49. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens to 34 ABY. Because Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary places Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker one year later, it must take place in 35 ABY.
  50. 50.0 50.1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
  51. Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
  52. SW Legion template Star Wars: LegionImperial Royal Guards Unit Expansion (Card: Electrostaff Guard)
  53. StarWars-DatabankII Force Pike in the Databank (backup link)
  54. Tarkin
  55. Star Wars Battlefront
  56. Databank title Emperor's Royal Guard in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
  57. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

External links[]

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