Alfred Broome

Alfred Broome’s long service at Dragonstone made him valuable to both sides of the struggle for the Iron Throne: first as a veteran of the island’s garrison, and then as the man who showed Aegon II how to take it. His betrayal helped bring Rhaenyra Targaryen into her enemy’s hands. Yet the king’s confidence in Broome proved temporary; when power shifted again in King’s Landing, Broome was killed before he could carry out another royal order.

Identity and Position at Dragonstone

Broome was one of the most senior knights at Dragonstone, having joined its garrison during the reign of the Old King. When Rhaenyra left the island to seize the Iron Throne, Broome expected to be appointed castellan. Instead, she chose Ser Robert Quince. The account attributes her decision to Broome’s sullen disposition and sour manner, which had won him neither affection nor trust, while Quince was regarded as more affable.

The appointment mattered beyond wounded pride. Quince remained a steadfast supporter of Rhaenyra, but Broome’s seniority and years in the garrison gave him knowledge of the castle’s defenses, its personnel, and the loyalties of its guards. He understood which men might be bribed or persuaded and which would have to be detained or killed. When Aegon’s men sought to retake Dragonstone, this practical knowledge made Broome more than a discontented knight: it made him their guide to the stronghold.

Betrayal and the Fall of Dragonstone

Broome agreed to betray Rhaenyra in return for the promise of lordship, lands, and gold if Aegon II regained the throne. The takeover was organized around the vulnerabilities he knew. In the hour of ghosts, men won over by Broome opened a postern gate, allowing Ser Marston Waters, Tom Tangletongue, and their followers to enter unseen. The attackers seized the armory and detained loyal guardsmen and the master-at-arms, while Marston surprised Grand Maester Gerardys in the rookery, preventing a raven from carrying news of the assault.

Broome led the party that entered Quince’s chambers. Quince was caught as he tried to rise from bed, and Broome killed him with a spear. The account also relates that Mushroom, who knew both knights, believed Broome resented Quince. The assault lasted less than an hour, an outcome that reflected both the smallness of Rhaenyra’s garrison and the precision of the intelligence Broome supplied.

When Rhaenyra arrived by ship with her son, her ladies, and an escort of forty commanded by Broome, the trap was already prepared. She had left her gold cloaks at Duskendale, and her Manderly companions remained aboard the ship. Broome told her that Quince would be at the castle to meet her; instead, she encountered the bodies of Quince and other members of her household displayed at the gatehouse. Prince Aegon understood the danger and urged his mother to flee, but the attack on her protectors had already begun.

Broome’s men overwhelmed the escort. Ser Harrold Darke and Ser Adrian Redfort were killed, and Ser Loreth Lansdale, the only knight to strike back effectively, also died. The boy tried to take up Darke’s sword, but Broome knocked it aside. Rhaenyra and her party were then marched at spearpoint into the castle ward, where Aegon II and the badly injured Sunfyre awaited them. Broome’s betrayal had converted Dragonstone from Rhaenyra’s refuge into the place of her capture.

Service to Aegon II

After the fall, Aegon II made Marston Waters a member of the Kingsguard for his part in the victory. Broome, too, remained close to the king. When Aegon ordered Rhaenyra’s execution, Broome helped rouse Sunfyre by pricking the queen with his dagger. The dragon then attacked her, and Rhaenyra was killed. The account records differing claims about which of the king’s men physically held her before the attack, but identifies Broome as the one who provoked Sunfyre. His role carried the betrayal through to its most decisive consequence: Rhaenyra did not leave Dragonstone alive.

Broome also argued that Rhaenyra’s young son should be killed. Aegon II refused, preferring to keep the boy as a hostage while the queen’s remaining supporters were dealt with. Later, when the king sought to threaten Lord Tully with harm to the boy, he summoned Broome to carry out the order. This assignment shows how completely Aegon had come to rely on the knight whose service had helped restore Dragonstone to him.

Reversal and Death

Broome did not live to fulfill that final command. As he crossed the drawbridge at Maegor’s Holdfast, where the prince was held, Ser Perkin the Flea and six of his knights blocked his way. Perkin announced that there was a new king and shoved Broome from the bridge onto the iron spikes below. Broome lingered for two days before dying.

His end contrasts sharply with the swift success of his earlier coup. At Dragonstone, Broome had used intimate knowledge of the garrison to make a change of power appear almost effortless; in King’s Landing, the king’s authority vanished around him before he could reach the prisoner he had been sent to punish. The account gives no indication that his promised lordship, lands, or gold secured him lasting power. Broome’s career instead traces the precarious value of service in a civil war: his expertise made him indispensable to one king, but could not protect him when that king’s cause collapsed.