The Master of Ships

The Master of Ships, also called the grand admiral, is one of the great offices of the small council that advises the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. The holder commands the royal fleet, oversees the construction and maintenance of warships, and manages the naval defenses of the Seven Kingdoms. In the tumultuous years following the War of the Five Kings, the office became a prize in the power struggles between the Lannisters, the Tyrells, and their rivals, and its occupancy reflected the shifting balance of power at court.

The Office and Its Holders

During the reign of King Tommen Baratheon, the small council was reshuffled after the arrest of Queen Regent Cersei Lannister. Ser Kevan Lannister, the new Lord Regent, confirmed Lord Paxter Redwyne as grand admiral and master of ships, a position Redwyne had long sought. Redwyne, the Lord of the Arbor, commanded the largest fleet in the Reach and was a staunch Tyrell ally. His appointment was part of the accommodation between the Lannisters and the Tyrells that followed Cersei's fall. However, Redwyne was absent from King's Landing for much of the narrative, sailing his fleet around Dorne to deal with the ironborn raids under Euron Greyjoy. His absence left the small council unbalanced, with the Tyrell faction gaining influence.

Aurane Waters and the Theft of the Fleet

Before Redwyne's appointment, the office had been held by Aurane Waters, the Bastard of Driftmark, a young and ambitious man whom Cersei Lannister had raised to the small council. Waters used his position to oversee the construction of a new royal fleet, dromonds built with the crown's gold. When Cersei was arrested by the Faith of the Seven, Waters fled King's Landing with the newly built ships, taking them to sea and becoming a pirate. His betrayal left the crown without a fleet and exposed the weakness of Cersei's judgment. The loss of the fleet was a severe blow to Lannister power, and it was one of the many crises that Ser Kevan Lannister had to address when he assumed the regency.

Political Significance in the Narrative

The Master of Ships is mentioned in the context of the small council's deliberations in the epilogue of A Dance with Dragons. Ser Kevan Lannister, reflecting on the balance of power, notes that Lord Redwyne, as master of ships, was a Tyrell man, and that once Redwyne returned to King's Landing, the council would be evenly split between Lannister and Tyrell supporters. This calculation underscores the precarious nature of the regency and the constant maneuvering for advantage. The office itself, like the other seats on the small council, is a token of the ongoing struggle for control of the Iron Throne, a struggle that Varys's assassination of Kevan Lannister and Grand Maester Pycelle is designed to destabilize further.