Rickard Thorne

Ser Rickard belonged to the Kingsguard during the reign of Viserys I Targaryen. He was in King's Landing when the king died, and swore his loyalty at once to the new king, Aegon II Targaryen, remaining in the service of the new monarch.

When Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen took King's Landing, she found that King Aegon, his children, and several of his vassals had vanished from the Red Keep. Lord Larys Strong had led them out through a secret passage in Maegor's Holdfast that only he knew of.

Ser Rickard was among those who fled, and he was charged with taking Prince Maelor Targaryen to Oldtown together with Lord Ormund Hightower. To avoid drawing attention on the road, the two men disguised themselves as a northern pilgrim and his son.

At Bitterbridge, Ser Rickard and the young prince took lodging in the stables of La Cabeza de Cerdo. On the instructions of the greedy innkeeper Ben Buttercakes, the stable boy known as Taimado searched their belongings and found a dragon egg among them, which set a mob upon the knight and the prince.

Ser Rickard was struck by two crossbow bolts, one in the arm and another through the throat; he fell from his horse onto the bridge and choked on his own blood before he could finish his last words. Prince Maelor was torn apart by several people fighting over him as a prize.

Ser Rickard's body was sent back to King's Landing, wrapped in his white cloak.