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real life Hand of the King?

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    real life Hand of the King?

    just wondering if there's ever been an analogous to GoT's hand of the king - in western history or even in all of human feudal history (2nd in command to the village chief doesn't count of course :| I mean vast kingdoms/empires/etc.)

    the closest thing I can think of is the sultan's Grand Vizier in the turkish/ottoman/whatever empire since he essentially wielded the sultan's powers (in the latter's absence), had no equal & was only accountable to the sultan
    and in western history...none? (AFAIK)

    #2
    The lord high steward is probably the closest fit.
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      #3
      The title "Prince Regent" springs to my mind.
      When a monarch dies & his heir is a minor his uncle (bearing the title Prince Regent) rules the country until the little Prince (& now King) becomes of age
      Also when the elected ruler is certified as mad, insane, a fruit cake, somebody (Uncle, cousin, younger brother) can be appointed as 'Prince Regent'
      That is the closest I can come to Hand of the King, but of course the Regent is not appointed by the king, nor can the King dismiss him & choose somebody else.
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        #4
        Originally posted by Gatefan1976 View Post
        The lord high steward is probably the closest fit.
        I heard about that one but did he have any equals? was he answerable to the king alone?
        and most importantly in the king's absence did he represent the king & have all (or most) of the king's powers? both in interior & foreign policy?

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          #5
          Originally posted by Who Knows View Post
          The title "Prince Regent" springs to my mind.
          When a monarch dies & his heir is a minor his uncle (bearing the title Prince Regent) rules the country until the little Prince (& now King) becomes of age
          Also when the elected ruler is certified as mad, insane, a fruit cake, somebody (Uncle, cousin, younger brother) can be appointed as 'Prince Regent'
          That is the closest I can come to Hand of the King, but of course the Regent is not appointed by the king, nor can the King dismiss him & choose somebody else.
          like the cardinals Richelieu in France for instance
          but their power's limited in time (until the king comes of age) and they don't really "represent" the king since they are the (temporary) king

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            #6
            come to think of it wouldn't it be risky for a king to have 1 single king's hand?

            there's a risk the hand could seek to overthrow the king especially since he could go about his plans without having to worry about rivals (since he's the only #2) that's why a dictators tend to have several seconds in command so as to "divide & conquer"

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              #7
              Originally posted by SoulReaver View Post
              come to think of it wouldn't it be risky for a king to have 1 single king's hand?

              there's a risk the hand could seek to overthrow the king especially since he could go about his plans without having to worry about rivals (since he's the only #2) that's why a dictators tend to have several seconds in command so as to "divide & conquer"
              Except the Hand is not the King. The King has royal and noble blood of a particular line. Generally the masses tend to respect that in old Monarchies. They can't imagine anything else.
              Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

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                #8
                Originally posted by P-90_177 View Post
                Generally the masses tend to respect that in old Monarchies
                and monarchies tend not to care about the masses
                in monarchies the masses respect authority so if an usurper takes over they'll accept the new king (by will or by force)

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by SoulReaver View Post
                  I heard about that one but did he have any equals? was he answerable to the king alone?
                  and most importantly in the king's absence did he represent the king & have all (or most) of the king's powers? both in interior & foreign policy?
                  Well, that depends on how the ruling council is set up.
                  They could be "number 2" or "first among equals".
                  As to his powers when the king is away, yes, they speak with the kings voice and authority when the king is absent. He certainly could deal with internal policy, as for foreign policy, I am honestly not 100% sure. I would imagine larger things like formal alliances with foreign powers would still need the kings say so in the end, but I would -assume- that the steward would certainly be able to open diplomatic lines and negotiate things like trade treaties in the Kings absence.
                  sigpic
                  ALL THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL CREATOR OF THIS SIG GO TO R.I.G.
                  A lie is just a truth that hasn't gone through conversion therapy yet
                  The truth isn't the truth

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                    #10
                    Marc Antony was Julius Caesar's "master of horse."
                    Daniel L Newhouse

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