The Tattered Prince is the founder and commander of the Windblown, a sellsword company that fights for many of the Free Cities of Essos. Also called Rags and Tatters, the Prince was once in line to become the ruler of Pentos, but he fled to avoid becoming a political pawn in the hands of the city’s magisters.

The Tattered Prince is a master of disguise and has kept his name a secret since he became the leader of the Windblown. Besides his aliases, no one knows anything about his family or lineage.

The Tattered Prince Details

Name: Unknown.
Year of Birth: 238 or 239 AC in Pentos.
Titles: Prince of Pentos, Commander of the Windblown.
Former and Current Allegiances: Second Sons, Maiden’s Men, Iron Shields, Windblown.
Culture: Pentoshi.
Aliases: The Tattered Prince, Tatters, Rags and Tatters, The Prince of Tatters, Old Grey-beards in Rags, Rags.

Appearance and Personality

The Tattered Prince is a melancholic-demeanor, soft-spoken old man with sad-looking eyes. He speaks classic High Valyrian, has long silver-grey hair, and wears a ragged cloak with twists of cloth of many colors. His stripped mantle has many bloodstains from the many battles he has fought. The Tattered Prince wears a mail the same color as his hair for fighting. His appearance is so painfully ordinary that all he needs to do to blend into the crowd is to take off his tatters, and when traveling, he wears a brown traveler’s cloak.

As the leader of one of the popular sellsword companies in Essos, the Tattered Prince rides a huge grey warhorse. The stallion has many multicolored rags on his hindquarters like his master. Though the Tattered Prince is soft-spoken, he has a reverberating voice on the battlefield and can command his men excellently during battles; this made some people like Tyrion Lannister admire and see him as an elegant Pentoshi. The Prince also wields a sword as his primary weapon.

Biography

When he was still twenty-three, the Magisters of Pentos chose the Tattered Prince to become the new Prince of Pentos after they beheaded the previous one. Not wanting to have the same fate as the dead leader of Pentos, Tatters took his belongings and fled to the Disputed Lands to hide for many years. He eventually became a sellsword and served in many companies, including the Second Sons, The Iron Shields, and the Maiden’s Men. In 270 AC, he and five other men formed the Windblown. However, he remained the company’s sole commander years later.

The Windblown became enemies of the Company of the Cat, another sellsword company, after its formation, and the company’s leader, Bloodbeard, never failed to express his hatred towards the Tattered Prince by calling him Old Grey-beards in Rags.

Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Dance with Dragons

After Daenerys Targaryen conquers Meereen, Yunkai hires the Windblown to fight against her. Realizing he could earn from both sides, The Tattered Prince tasks some Westerosi-born soldiers in his camp to travel to Meereen under the guise of leaving the Windblown. However, he fails to discover that the men he sends are Prince Quentyn Martell and his trusted companions.

When Quentyn reaches Daenerys Targaryen, he shows her the letter signed between Prince Oberyn Martell and Ser Willem Darry promising Arianne Martell to Prince Viserys. He then asks for Dany’s hands in marriage, but she refuses, stating she was supposed to get married to Hizdahr zo Loraq the next day. After getting rejected, Quentyn plans to steal Dany’s dragons. He talks to some Windblown soldiers, who promise to help him after taking his gold.

Quentyn then meets the Tattered Prince in the cellar of the Purple Lotus. The Prince agrees to help him get one of Dany’s dragons if he gives him the city of Pentos. He also states he witnessed Daenerys fly away on Drogon after he crashed the event at Daznak’s Pit. Though Quentyn reaches the cage of Viserion and Rhaegal, his plans fail as he gets killed.

As the tension between the Slaver cities and Meereen increases, Ser Barristan Selmy arrests the new King of Meereen, Hizdahr, and sends the remaining dornishmen to meet the Tattered Prince and negotiate a deal involving Pentos and rescuing the hostages held by the Yunkish forces.

Speculation and Fan Theories

Many ASOIAF fans have argued over the identity of the Tattered Prince. From the details of his life, he is a nobleman from Pentos and must have been in one of the wealthiest families in the city. There have been many alternate explanations for the Tattered Prince’s identity. Some people believe he may be Jaime Lannister because George R. R. Martin tends to create alternate futures for his characters. However, everything is purely speculation, as no evidence links the Prince to Jaime.