Hand of the King

The Hand of the King is the king’s chief advisor and executor of his command in the Seven Kingdoms. Duties of the Hand include commanding the king’s armies, drafting laws, dispensing justice, and generally managing the day-to-day running of the kingdom. The Hand may act on the king’s behalf when he is indisposed, and sit on the Iron Throne while doing so. The Hand also sits on the small council and will run the council if the king is not present.

The office typically makes the Hand the second most powerful man in the kingdom next to the king, though some Hands had the reputation of ruling their kings. It is considered by some to be a difficult and unglamorous job of great responsibility. A popular saying goes, “What the king dreams, the Hand builds,” but the lowborn say, “The king eats, and the Hand takes the shit.” Many able men have failed in the office throughout history.

The Hand resides in a tower of the Red Keep called the Tower of the Hand. His badge of office always includes a hand, though each Hand can design his own. A necklace of hands linked into a chain is one possible badge. Servants of the Hand wear the emblem of a hand.