Imperial Royal Guard (37)Full unit name: Imperial Royal Guard
Last updated: 10.09.2022 21:00:34
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Basic info
First appearance: Return of the Jedi
Events: Anakin and Padme depart Tatooine, Duel in the Senate (ROTS), Mission to Kashyyyk (TFU), The Emperor arrives
Summary
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Initially known as Red Guard, nicknamed Redrobes, they were members of an elite organization of bodyguards trained to protect Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the head of state of the Galactic Republic. Its first members were drawn from the ranks of the Senate Guard. Guardsmen noted for loyalty and efficiency were transferred into the Red Guard; Senate Commandos - regarded as the best and the bravest soldiers of the Senate Guard - were also assimilated into the Chancellor's private security unit. The Red Guard served as Chancellor Palpatine's protectors prior to and throughout the Clone Wars. After the Republic's transition into the Galactic Empire was completed by the end of the war in 19 BBY, the Red Guard was reorganized into the Imperial Royal Guard by the newly-appointed Emperor Palpatine.
Now known as Emperor's Royal Guard, sometimes referred to as the Imperial Royal Guard or Imperial Guard, they were tasked with the protection of the Emperor, Palpatine. Palpatine was almost never seen without a detachment of Royal Guards at his side, so much that they usually accompanied him to his bed chambers and his office within the Death Star. The exact number of Royal Guardsmen serving the Emperor was unknown, with speculations ranging from less than fifty to tens of thousands, although their numbers were estimated to be at least four hundred at any one point. Like the stormtroopers of the Stormtrooper Corps, the Royal Guards formed a military unit independent of the Imperial Military and answered directly to the Emperor. The Royal Guard was based out of the Imperial Royal Guard Academy on Yinchorr, a barren planet rendered lifeless by genocidal airstrikes by the Empire. Candidates for tutelage under the Academy, picked from various units in the Imperial Military, underwent rigorous training programs designed to build a sense of extreme loyalty to the Emperor, with students often being forced to kill each other in live combat. Guardsmen were trained in various forms of martial arts, including Echani. Guardsmen were commonly equipped with vibroswords and force pikes, in addition to heavy blaster pistols for ranged combat.
Following the first death of the Emperor during the Battle of Endor, the unit, without a leader, was scattered for several years. However, during the Emperor's subsequent reincarnations in the form of cloned bodies, the unit was reconvened on Byss, fighting for the reborn Palpatine and being nearly destroyed by the destruction of Byss by the Galaxy Gun and Palpatine's flagship, the Eclipse II. When a member of the unit, Carnor Jax, was implicated by Palpatine's personal physician with ensuring the failure of his clone bodies in a bid to become Emperor, he led a slaughter of the unit's survivors on Yinchorr, leaving only Kir Kanos. Jax made a bid for the empty throne previously held by Palpatine before being assassinated by Kanos, whose undying loyalty to the Emperor and his ideals led him on a crusade to murder anyone involved with his death.

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See also
Related organizations
Shadow Guard
Related units, characters and technologies
Carnor Jax
Kir Kanos
Complete list

Full unit name: Imperial Royal Guard Last updated: 10.09.2022 21:00:34