HOUSE TYRELL

House Tyrell of Highgarden is an extinct Great House of Westeros. It ruled over the Reach, a vast, fertile, and heavily-populated region of southwestern Westeros, from their castle-seat of Highgarden as Lords Paramount of the Reach and Wardens of the South after taking control of the region from House Gardener during the Targaryen Conquest. Their castle seat of Highgarden is located on the banks of the River Mander and sits astride the Roseroad, a major thoroughfare linking Oldtown and the capital city of King's Landing. Highgarden also forms the southern terminus of the Searoad, which leads to Lannisport. As King's Landing, Oldtown, and Lannisport are the first, second and third largest cities in the realm, heavy trade and traffic across a large swath of southern Westeros ultimately passes through Highgarden.

The House was formerly led by Lord Mace Tyrell. Mace's son Ser Loras was a noted tournament knight and the secret lover of Lord Renly Baratheon. Mace's daughter Lady Margaery married Renly when he crowned himself king during the War of the Five Kings in order to cement an alliance between Renly and her father. Following Renly's murder, Margaery was then later married to King Joffrey Baratheon, as arranged by Lord Petyr Baelish, before the sadistic king’s assassination at their wedding feast. Following this, Margaery was then married to his younger brother, King Tommen Baratheon, who took the Iron Throne in the line of succession. Lord Mace's mother, the indomitable Olenna Tyrell, nicknamed the “Queen of Thorns,” assumed House Tyrell's lordship after Margaery, Loras and Mace Tyrell were all killed by wildfire at the destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor. Under Olenna, House Tyrell realigned itself with House Targaryen and declared for Daenerys Targaryen, alongside House Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand, in opposition against Queen Cersei Lannister, who had orchestrated the downfall of House Tyrell as the one responsible for the Sept explosion. However, shortly after, with the death of Olenna after the Sack of Highgarden, House Tyrell officially became extinct. In the series, the Tyrell family is very small, has only four known members of the main branch.

The Tyrell sigil is a golden rose on a pale green field. Their house words are "Growing Strong."

BACKGROUND

House Tyrell was founded by Alester Tyrell, an Andal knight, during the Andal Invasion. Ser Alester and his family became senior servants of House Gardener, the Kings of the Reach, serving for millennia as stewards of the royal castle at Highgarden. Over time they rose to prominence as one of the strongest noble Houses in the Reach, and even intermarried with the royal line - though so did many other powerful houses from the Reach.

During the Targaryen Conquest, King Mern Gardener was burned alive at the Field of Fire by the Targaryen dragons, along with all of his immediate heirs. Subsequently, Mern's steward Harlen Tyrell voluntarily surrendered Highgarden to Aegon Targaryen. Aegon rewarded Harlen by making him Lord of Highgarden and Lord Paramount of the Reach - ahead of other Houses from the Reach which were actually more closely related to House Gardener. Chief among these is House Florent of Brightwater Keep, which claims direct male-line descent from the old Gardener kings, while House Tyrell only claim descent from House Gardener through the female line.

House Tyrell's overall disposition is adequately represented by their sigil of a rose: a rose's beauty often hides the fact that it has thorns. Though the Tyrells do try to be just and fair, their benevolent demeanor serves to lull their enemies into thinking that, like House Stark, they are utterly beholden to honorable conduct. In reality, the Tyrells are just as cunning as House Lannister in court politics and intrigue, though they often prefer a more subtle approach. Thus they strike a pragmatic balance between the Starks' honor and the Lannisters' ruthlessness.

Throughout history, House Tyrell has played by the strategy of following the sure path, siding with whoever is most likely to win in any conflict. During the Targaryen Conquest, they surrendered Highgarden to the invading forces of Aegon the Conqueror, and in return the Tyrells were elevated as the new Lords Paramount of the Reach. During Robert's Rebellion, House Tyrell remained loyal to House Targaryen, as Lord Robert Baratheon was a rebel unlikely to win, and the Tyrells owed their rule of the Reach to the Targaryens. Forces of House Tyrell managed to inflict the only loss Robert suffered during the war, albeit an indecisive one, at the Battle of Ashford. However, the vast army and resources of House Tyrell were tied up on a siege of Storm's End (held for Robert by his brother Stannis Baratheon). After the “Mad King” Aerys Targaryen's death, the Tyrells surrendered and swore fealty to the usurper Robert Baratheon.

In the current generation, House Tyrell is a stable and honestly loving family, with none of the internal rivalries that are to be found in House Lannister and House Baratheon. Thus the relationships between Lord Mace and his children, and between siblings like Margaery and Loras, are genuine and uncomplicated.

 MEMBERS and allies

*REPRESENTED IN THE SERIES*