Loras Tyrell is the third son of Lady Alerie Hightower and Lord Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden. Also known as the Knight of Flowers, he is a member of the Kingsguard for King Tommen Baratheon. Because of his incredible good looks, showmanship, and tournament successes, he is a celebrated figure in the courts of the Seven Kingdoms and among the smallfolk, particularly women. Loras is also an elegant jouster and one of the strongest fighters in Westeros.
Loras Tyrell Personal Details
- Name: Loras Tyrell.
- Year of Birth: 282 AC in Highgarden.
- Titles: Ser, Lord Commander of the Rainbow Guard.
- Allegiances: House Tyrell, Rainbow Guard, Kingsguard.
- Aliases: The Knight of Flowers, Knight o’ Pansies, Ser Daisy, Renly’s Little Rose.
- Parents: Lord Mace Tyrell and Lady Alerie Hightower.
- Siblings: Willas Tyrell, Garlan Tyrell, Margaery Tyrell.
- Personal Coat of Arms: Three golden roses on a green field.
- Culture: Reachmen.
- Religion: Faith of the Seven.
- Hair Color: Brown.
- Eye Color: Brown.
Appearance and Personality
Loras is a dazzling slender-framed young man with lively and beautiful big golden-brown eyes. His lazy brown curly hair form ringlets that drape over his eyes. Described as a beautiful man by Tyrion Lannister, Loras is an accomplished legend loved by the smallfolk. Many men strive to be like him, and most women in Westeros crave his touch.
Though an accomplished knight, Loras still craves glory, and his desire to be a champion makes him short-tempered and rash. Though not official, many people, including his father and grandmother Olenna Tyrell, believe he is a homosexual.
Even though he is young and slim, Loras is a capable warrior. He is exceptionally skilled with axes, lances, and swords. He is such an incredible warrior that Ser Jaime Lannister acknowledges his skill. For his attire, he wears a silver armor adorned with sapphires and twining black vines and uses a silver mail and green shield. He decorates his helm with golden roses and rides a grey mare and a tall white stallion.
Loras Tyrell Biography
Loras was born as the third son of Lord Mace Tyrell at Highgarden. After coming of age, he traveled to Storm’s End and squired for Lord Renly Baratheon. He and Renly grew close, and according to unofficial sources, they became lovers. At age fifteen, he received his knighthood and bought his armor from Tobho Mott’s shop in the Street of Steel in King’s Landing.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones
When Lord Jon Arryn dies, King Robert travels to Winterfell and asks Lord Eddard Stark to become the Hand of the King. On accepting the job, Robert hosts the Hand’s Tourney in Ned’s honor. At the tourney, Ser Loras participates and defeats the members of the Kingsguard. After defeating an opponent, he gives a rose to a beautiful girl in the crowd.
Loras gives Sansa Stark a rose, and she gets infatuated with him. During the tournament, he intentionally rides a mare against Ser Gregor Clegane; this causes Gregor to get furious and attack Loras. Sandor Clegane comes to the knight’s rescue, and after Robert orders the brothers to stop fighting, Loras forfeits fighting Sandor, making him the champion.
Meanwhile, Loras and Renly plot to dethrone Cersei as Queen in favor of Margaery Tyrell. Though Renly tries to convince Ned Stark, the Hand of the King does not budge. With the realm in chaos due to Lord Tywin Lannister’s raids in the Riverlands, Ned chooses a champion to arrest Gregor.
Loras gets disappointed when he does not get picked. When Ned learns of Cersei’s illegitimacy, Lord Petyr Baelish, Littlefinger, suggests they employ Loras’s help. However, Ned refuses and tries seizing the Iron Throne. He gets arrested on charges of treason. He gets killed, and Robb stark becomes King in the North.
A Clash of Kings
With Ned’s death, Loras supports Renly’s claim to the Iron Throne. He convinces his father to help Renly, and Margaery marries him. Lord Mace Tyrell serves as the Hand of the King, and Loras becomes the Captain of the Rainbow Guards. Renly holds a melee at Bitterbridge, and though Loras is one of two finalists, he loses to Brienne of Tarth. As per her wish, she becomes a member of the rainbow guard.
When Lord Stannis Baratheon fails to settle with his brother, Loras gets placed in charge of an army regimen. However, the King gets killed by a shadow assassin sent by Melisandre of Asshai. After Renly’s death, Loras gets angry and kills the members of the Rainbow guard. Petyr then meets with the Tyrells and negotiates an alliance. Margaery gets betrothed to King Joffrey Baratheon, and Loras is made a member of the Kingsguard.
A Storm of Swords
At only seventeen, Loras joins the Kingsguard. Sansa Stark falls more for him in his Kingsguard attire. After Lady Olenna learns of Joffrey’s attitude to Sansa, she tries marrying her to Willas Tyrell. Petyr Baelish discovers the plan and informs Lord Tywin Lannister, who forces Tyrion to marry Sansa. At her wedding feast, Loras’s brother Ser Garlan dances with Sansa and tells her Tyrion would be better than his brother.
When Jaime Lannister returns to King’s Landing, he arrives with Brienne, and Loras accuses her of killing Renly. She gets arrested, and during a meeting at the White Sword Tower, Loras accuses the missing Sansa of killing Joffrey. Brienne gets freed after a fair trial shows she did not kill Renly.
A Feast for Crows
After Lord Tywin Lannister gets killed, Loras and Jaime stand in a vigil. Later, Cersei refuses to allow him to train King Tommen in the ways of a knight. When Jaime departs to restore order to the Riverlands, he makes Loras the leader of the Kingsguard; this upsets Cersei. The Queen Regent grows paranoid as Tommen grows closer to Loras and Margaery.
When the ironborn takes the Shields, Cersei refuses to allow the Redwyne fleet to depart from the siege of Dragonstone to face Euron Grejoy. Loras then volunteers to capture Dragonstone and sails to the islands on the dromons of grand admiral Aurane Waters. On getting to Dragonstone, Loras leads a bloody battle and successfully takes the castle. However, he gets wounded gravely by boiling oil.
A Dance with Dragons
Loras’s condition worsens as his wounds do not heal. Cersei learns of his condition while imprisoned by the High Sparrow of the Faith. Lord Mace Tyrell then informs Ser Kevan Lannister that no gold, gemstones, or dragon eggs got found at the castle. Later, Kevan gets killed by Lord Varys.
Appearance in Adaptation
In HBO’s hit tv series Game of Thrones, Finn Jones portrays Loras Tyrell. He appeared in seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and starred in 20 episodes. He was the heir to Highgarden and Margaery’s younger brother, and after his lover, Renly, got killed, he joined the Lannister alliance and supported his sister.
Cersei allows the reformation of the Faith Militant and gets arrested for adultery. She gets forced to walk naked. Loras gets arrested, and Cersei does not show up for his trial. Margaery tries to lead her brother away from the Sept, but the sparrows stop her. Suddenly, the wildfire set by Cersei explodes, destroying the Sept and killing everyone, including Loras and his sister.
Loras Tyrell: The Elegant Warrior
Loras Tyrell was one of the best soldiers in A Song of Ice and Fire. His dedication to his family made him a beloved knight and person. However, his desire for revenge and glory leads to his downfall because even though he could have gotten Dragonstone easily, he bloodily conquers the castle. Some may argue that Loras’s attack on Dragonstone was a suicide attempt, as he did it purposefully to get killed.
FAQs
Was Loras one of the best fighters in the Seven Kingdoms?
Though he was only seventeen, Loras was an exceptionally skilled warrior who could get placed among the best fighters of Westeros. He could handle many weapons and was a jousting prodigy.
Is Loras better than Jaime?
During Jaime’s prime, Loras would be no match. However, without his hand, Loras is a better fighter than Jaime. Even Jaime admitted to his skill and wanted to place him in charge of the Kingsguard.
What happens to Loras in the books?
After Renly Baratheon’s death, Loras becomes a member of the Kingsguard. When the Greyjoys attack parts of Westeros, Cersei refuses to let the Redwyne Fleet leave Dragonstone. Loras asks to lead an army against the castle, and though he succeeds, he gets gravely injured.
Is Loras dead?
In the tv series, Loras and his sister get killed when Cersei plants wildfire bombs under the Great Sept of Baelor. In the books, he is alive but gravely injured.