Harrold Darke

Harrold Darke was a knight of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Queensguard, remembered as one of The Seven Who Rode and as a defender of the queen during her flight from King’s Landing. His actions at Duskendale helped gain her temporary refuge, but his attempt to protect her ended at Dragonstone, where he was killed before he could draw his sword.

Queensguard and the Seven Who Rode

Darke was among the seven named men who rode out in response to the crisis surrounding Prince Joffrey’s flight. He rode with Ser Medrick Manderly, Ser Loreth Lansdale, Ser Harmon of the Reeds, Ser Gyles Yronwood, Ser Willam Royce, and Ser Glendon Goode, Lord Commander of the Queensguard. Six squires, eight gold cloaks, and twenty men-at-arms accompanied them, though their names were not recorded. The Ride of the Seven became the subject of songs and later tales; Darke’s place in it establishes him as one of the queen’s sworn protectors amid the violence engulfing King’s Landing.

Kinship and Refuge at Duskendale

Darke was a distant kinsman of House Darklyn and had once served as a squire to the late Ser Steffon Darklyn. That connection mattered when Rhaenyra arrived at Duskendale: Lady Meredyth, widow of Lord Gunthor, was reluctant to admit the queen, after the heavy losses House Darklyn had suffered in her cause. Darke’s intercession persuaded Lady Meredyth to receive Rhaenyra within the walls of the Dun Fort, though only on the condition that she would not stay long.

The shelter was temporary, and the queen’s position grew increasingly desperate. When Lady Meredyth made clear that Rhaenyra had overstayed her welcome, Darke urged her to seek refuge with Lady Arryn in the Vale. Ser Medrick Manderly offered another possibility, asking her to accompany him and his brother Ser Torrhen to White Harbor. Rhaenyra refused both proposals, determined instead to return to Dragonstone, where she hoped to find dragon eggs and secure another dragon.

Death at Dragonstone

Darke accompanied the queen on the voyage back to Dragonstone. When she and her party landed, Ser Alfred’s men attacked her protectors. An axe split Darke’s head before he could draw his sword. Ser Adrian Redfort was also killed, while Ser Loreth Lansdale struck down two attackers before being slain. With Lansdale’s death, the last of the Queensguard fell.

Darke’s end sharply contrasts with the protection he had helped provide at Duskendale: there, his kinship and standing had opened a castle’s gates to Rhaenyra; at Dragonstone, he was cut down at the threshold of her attempted return. His service carried him from the Ride of the Seven through the queen’s flight and back to her ancestral seat, where his death marked the collapse of her remaining protection.