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{{Infobox character
{{Infobox character
| Character_name = [[File:House_Redwyne.png|50px|left]] '''Olenna Redwyne''' [[File:House_Tyrell.PNG|50px|right]]
| title          = Lady
| image          = [[File:Olenna Redwyne.jpg|250px]]
| nickname      =
| image_caption  = Olenna by [http://en.amokanet.ru/gallery/martin/ Amoka©]
| firstname      = Olenna
| Alias          = The Queen of Thorns
| particle      =
| Title          =
| lastname      = Tyrell
| epithet        = the Queen of Thorns
| arms          = Redwyne
| arms2          = Tyrell
| image          = Borja Pindado thequeenofthorns.jpg
| image_caption  = Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns, by Borja Pindado © Fantasy Flight Games
| Alias          = Olenna Redwyne{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V}}{{Ref|AWOIAF|Olenna Redwyne}}<br>Queen of Thorns{{Ref|ASOS|6}}
| Title          = Lady of [[Highgarden]]<br>Dowager Lady of Highgarden{{Ref|ASOS|Appendix}}
| Allegiance    = [[House Redwyne]]<br>[[House Tyrell]]
| Allegiance    = [[House Redwyne]]<br>[[House Tyrell]]
| Race          =
| Race          =  
| Culture        =
| Culture        = [[Reach]]
| Spouse        = Lord {[[Luthor Tyrell]]}
| Date_of_Birth  = {{Date|228}}<ref>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages (Continued2)#Olenna Redwyne|Olenna Redwyne]] calculation.''</ref>
| Place_of_Birth =
| Place_of_Birth = the [[Arbor]]{{Ref|AWOIAF|Olenna Redwyne}}
| Date_of_Birth  =
| Date_of_Death  =
| Place_of_Death =
| Place_of_Death =
| Date_of_Death  =
| Father        = [[Runceford Redwyne]]{{Ref|ADWD|1}}
| Books          = [[A Storm of Swords]] (Appears)<br>[[A Feast for Crows]] (Appears)
| Mother        =  
| coat-of-arms  =
| Spouse        = Lord [[Luthor Tyrell]]{{Ref|ASOS|6}}
| Played_by      = Diana Rigg
| Lover          =  
| TV_series      =[[Game of Thrones - Season 3|Season 3]]
| Issue          = [[Mace Tyrell]]{{Ref|ASOS|Appendix}}<br>[[Mina Tyrell]]{{Ref|ASOS|Appendix}}<br>[[Janna Tyrell]]{{Ref|ASOS|Appendix}}
| coat-of-arms  =  
| Books          = ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small><br>''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small><br>''[[A Clash of Kings]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small><br>''[[A Storm of Swords]]'' <small>(appears)</small><br>''[[A Feast for Crows]]'' <small>(appears)</small><br>''[[A Dance with Dragons]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small>
| Played_by      = [[w:Diana Rigg|Diana Rigg]]
| TV_series      = ''[[Game of Thrones]]'': <br>[[Game of Thrones - Season 3|Season 3]] {{!}} [[Game of Thrones - Season 4|4]] {{!}} [[Game of Thrones - Season 5|5]] {{!}} [[Game of Thrones - Season 6|6]] {{!}} [[Game of Thrones - Season 7|7]]
}}
}}
'''Olenna Redwyne''' is the widow of Lord [[Luthor Tyrell]] and the mother of Lord [[Mace Tyrell]]. Because of her sharp tongue, she is generally known as the '''Queen of Thorns'''.


==Appearance & Character==
'''Olenna Tyrell''',{{Ref|ASOS|6}}{{Ref|ASOS|60}}{{Ref|AFFC|12}} née '''Redwyne''',{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V}}{{Ref|AWOIAF|Olenna Redwyne}} is the widow of Lord [[Luthor Tyrell]] and the mother of [[Mace Tyrell]], Lord of [[Highgarden]]. Born into [[House Redwyne]] of the [[Arbor]], she is commonly known as the '''Queen of Thorns''' because of her sharp tongue.{{Ref|ACOK|appendix}}
Lady Olenna is old, with white hair and very small. She has soft, spotted hands with gaunt thin fingers. Olenna has an old woman's sour breath. She is older than [[Hoster Tully]].{{Ref|aSoS|6}} She has lost her teeth.{{Ref|aFfC|7}} Olenna walks with a cane{{Ref|aSoS|60}} and claims to be near deaf{{Ref|aSoS|6}}, but both might be part of her feigning to be more frail than she actually is.{{Ref|aSoS|68}}


Olenna rarely shies from stating her opinion. She is described as a wizened, cunning old woman with a wicked wit and a sharp tongue. According to her granddaughter [[Margaery Tyrell|Margaery]], she is not the most patient of women.{{Ref|aSoS|6}} Although she regularly mocks members of her own family{{Ref|aSoS|6}}{{Ref|aFfC|7}}, she seems to be a staunch supporter of [[House Tyrell|Tyrell]] family interests.{{Ref|aSoS|68}}{{Ref|aFfC|12}}
In the television adaptation ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', Olenna is portrayed by Dame [[w:Diana Rigg|Diana Rigg]].


[[File:OllenaRedwynebyWouterBruneel.jpg|250px|thumb|Olenna Redwyne by [http://www.wbruneel.com/IllustrationPortfolio.html Wouter Bruneel].]]
==Appearance and Character==
{{See also|:Category:Images of Olenna Redwyne|l1=Images of Olenna Redwyne}}
[[File:Jeff Lee Johnson Queen of Thornes.png|thumb|right|350px|Olenna by Jeff Lee Johnson © Fantasy Flight Games]]
Lady Olenna is a small woman,{{Ref|ASOS|6}} the size of a child.{{Ref|AFFC|7}} The white-haired lady appears wrinkled{{Ref|AFFC|12}} and wizened.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} She has soft, spotted hands, with gaunt thin fingers.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} Olenna smells of rosewater, but she also has has an old woman's sour breath{{Ref|ASOS|6}} and toothless smiles.{{Ref|ASOS|60}}{{Ref|AFFC|7}} Olenna walks with a cane,{{Ref|ASOS|60}} and claims to be near deaf,{{Ref|ASOS|6}} but both might be part of her feigning to be more frail than she actually is.{{Ref|ASOS|68}} Olenna is older than Lord [[Hoster Tully]].{{Ref|ASOS|6}}
 
Olenna rarely shies from stating her opinion, and is a cunning old woman with a wicked wit and a sharp tongue. This has earned her the moniker "Queen of Thorns", though she does not care for the name.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} According to her granddaughter [[Margaery Tyrell|Margaery]], she is not the most patient of women.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} Although Olenna regularly mocks members of her own family,{{Ref|ASOS|6}}{{Ref|AFFC|7}} she seems to be a staunch supporter of [[House Tyrell|Tyrell]] family interests.{{Ref|ASOS|68}}{{Ref|AFFC|12}}
 
Ser [[Arys Oakheart]] of the [[Kingsguard]] thinks of the Queen of Thorns as a strong woman.{{Ref|AFFC|13}}


==History==
==History==
In her youth, she was almost wed to a member of [[House Targaryen]], but Olenna did everything she could to make sure it never came to fruition. She liked her husband [[Luthor Tyrell|Luthor]] well enough, as he was kind and not unskilled in bed, but she still considered him an oaf. She regrets that she didn't have a chance to beat her son [[Mace Tyrell|Mace]] more often when he was a child, as that would have made him more ready to heed her advise when he became an adult.{{Ref|aSoS|6}}
[[File:Olenna Tyrell by Amuelia.png|thumb|350px|Olenna Tyrell in her youth and old age, by Amuelia ©]]
Olenna Redwyne was betrothed to Prince [[Daeron Targaryen (son of Aegon V)|Daeron Targaryen]] when they were both nine,{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V}} but she claims she did everything she could to make sure it never came to fruition.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} According to [[maesters]], it was Daeron who broke the betrothal when they were eighteen in {{Date|246}},{{Ref|twoiaf|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V}} but Olenna speaks contemptuously of the "queer notions" of [[House Targaryen]] and [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]], presumably referring to [[Targaryen madness]] as well as to [[Renly Baratheon]] and Daeron's homosexuality.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}
 
Olenna later married [[Luthor Tyrell]], the heir to Highgarden, who had also been spurned by his own [[Shaera Targaryen|Targaryen betrothed]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V}} At some point Luthor became [[Lord of Highgarden]], and he and Olenna had three children together, [[Mace Tyrell|Mace]], [[Mina Tyrell|Mina]], and [[Janna Tyrell|Janna]].{{Ref|ASOS|Appendix}} Olenna says she loved Luthor well enough, as he was kind and not unskilled in bed, but she still considered him an oaf. An example she cites is that Luthor rode off a cliff to his death while [[hawk]]ing, because he had been looking up at the sky and not paying attention to where his horse was going. Olenna feels that her son Mace is also an oaf, and regrets that she did not beat him more often when he was a child, as that would have made him more ready to heed her advice as an adult.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} Olenna's nephew is [[Paxter Redwyne]], Lord of the [[Arbor]],{{Ref|AFFC|16}} who is also married to her daughter Mina Tyrell.{{Ref|ASOS|Appendix}}
 
Olenna has twin guardsmen named [[Erryk (guard)|Erryk]] and [[Arryk (guard)|Arryk]], whom she refers to as "Left and Right" because she cannot tell them apart.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}


==Recent Events==
==Recent Events==
===''A Clash of Kings''===
===''A Clash of Kings''===
After the death of [[Renly Baratheon]], [[Petyr Baelish]] is sent to [[Highgarden]] to negotiate an alliance between [[House Lannister]] and [[House Tyrell]], including a marriage between [[Joffrey Baratheon|King Joffrey]] and Renly's widow, [[Margaery Tyrell]].{{Ref|aCoK|36}} During the negotiations, Lady Olenna asks Littlefinger pointed questions about Joffrey's nature. Littlefinger praises Joffrey to the skies, but secretly uses some of his escorts to plant disturbing rumors about the king among the servants at Highgarden, thereby creating doubts about the truth of his official statements.{{Ref|aSoS|68}}
After the death of King [[Renly Baratheon]], Lord [[Petyr Baelish]] is sent to [[Bitterbridge]]{{Ref|ACOK|36}} and [[Highgarden]]{{Ref|ASOS|68}} to negotiate an alliance between [[House Lannister]] and [[House Tyrell]], including a marriage between King [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey I Baratheon]] and [[Margaery Tyrell]], Renly's widow and Olenna's granddaughter.{{Ref|ACOK|36}} During the negotiations, Lady Olenna asks Petyr pointed questions about Joffrey's nature. Petyr highly praises Joffrey, but secretly uses some of his escorts to plant disturbing rumors about the king among the servants at Highgarden, thereby creating doubts about the truth of his official statements.{{Ref|ASOS|68}}


===''A Storm of Swords''===
===''A Storm of Swords''===
[[File:Olenna redwyne by daenerys mod.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Illustration by Elia Fernandez©|250px]]
[[File:All Men Are Fools by Drazenka Kimpel FFG.jpg|350px|thumb|Olenna having dinner with [[Margaery Tyrell]] and [[Sansa Stark]] - by Drazenka Kimpel; ©Fantasy Flight Games]]
Lady Olenna comes to [[King's Landing]] to attend the wedding of her granddaughter, [[Margaery Tyrell]], to King [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey I]]. During a supper with Margaery and a number of noble ladies of houses sworn to the [[House Tyrell|Tyrells]], Olenna sharply questions [[Sansa Stark]] about Joffrey's nature. She refuses to listen to Sansa's evasions and half truths about Joffrey and gets Sansa to speak the truth about Joffrey's cruelty and the beatings he gave her. To prevent any potential spy from listening to Sansa, Lady Olenna orders her jester, [[Butterbumps]], to sing loudly.{{Ref|aSoS|6}}
Lady Olenna comes to [[King's Landing]] to attend the wedding of Margaery to Joffrey. Olenna and Lady [[Alerie Hightower]] arrive in a [[wheelhouse]] decorated with gilded carvings of roses.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}
 
During a supper with Margaery and a number of noble ladies of houses sworn to the [[House Tyrell|Tyrells]], Olenna questions [[Sansa Stark]] about Joffrey's nature. She refuses to listen to Sansa's evasions and half truths about Joffrey, and gets Sansa to speak the truth about Joffrey's cruelty and the beatings he gave her. To prevent any potential spy from listening to Sansa, Olenna orders her jester, [[Butterbumps]], to sing loudly. She speaks dismissively of [[Renly Baratheon]], Margaery's late husband, blaming his desire to be king on the "queer notions" of [[House Baratheon]], which she believes comes from their [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] blood. Olenna also compares her son, Lord [[Mace Tyrell|Mace]], to a [[w:pufferfish|puff fish]] of the [[Summer Isles]].{{Ref|ASOS|6}}
 
Olenna plots with Margaery to have Sansa marry her grandson [[Willas Tyrell|Willas]], without letting Lord Mace know about it.{{Ref|ASOS|6}} However, Sansa unwisely tells [[Dontos Hollard]] about the plan,{{Ref|ASOS|28}} and Dontos shares the information with his secret employer, Petyr Baelish. Lord Baelish foils the plot by telling Lord [[Tywin Lannister]] about it, and the Hand has Sansa [[Wedding of Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark|quickly married]] to his own son, [[Tyrion Lannister|Tyrion]].{{Ref|ASOS|19}}{{Ref|ASOS|28}}
 
In turn, Olenna sabotages Tywin's plan to marry his widowed daughter, Queen Regent [[Cersei Lannister]], to Willas, the heir to [[Highgarden]]. Although Mace is originally inclined to accept the offer, Olenna belabors her son and talks him out of it, arguing that Cersei is "too old and too used" for Willas. Tywin learns about this from Lord [[Varys]] and shares the information with Tyrion. Tywin orders Tyrion not to tell Cersei about the reason and rather act as if the offer has never been made.{{Ref|ASOS|32}}
 
[[File:Left Right and the Queen of Thorns by Diego Gisbert Llorens.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Olenna and her guards, [[Erryk (guard)|Erryk]] and [[Arryk (guard)|Arryk]], by Diego Gisbert Llorens, © FFG]]
Olenna seems to share the general aversion of the Tyrells against [[House Martell]]. During an ugly confrontation in the yard of the [[Red Keep]], she calls [[Oberyn Martell]]'s paramour, [[Ellaria Sand]], "the [[serpent]]'s whore".{{Ref|ASOS|53}}
 
Olenna is present at the wedding of her granddaughter Margaery and King Joffrey at the [[Great Sept of Baelor]]. In the wedding procession after the ceremony, Ser [[Kevan Lannister]] escorts her out of the sept. Olenna wears a heavy [[cloth-of-gold]] gown. Before the wedding feast in the throne room, Olenna approaches Sansa and expresses her condolences over the deaths of her brother, King [[Robb Stark]], and mother, Lady [[Catelyn Stark]], at the [[Red Wedding]]. While she talks with her, Olenna puts Sansa's wind-blown hair in order and straightens the [[silver hair net]] that Sansa had received from Dontos and which he told her to wear at the wedding. Later, Olenna makes a snide remark about how often "[[The Rains of Castamere]]" is being performed during the [[Purple Wedding|wedding feast]]. When Joffrey begins to choke after drinking from his [[wedding chalice]] and eating pigeon pie, Olenna calls for help and comforts Margaery. Cersei accuses Tyrion of having [[poison]]ed her son after Joffrey dies.{{Ref|ASOS|60}}
 
While later revealing his part in planning Joffrey's death, Petyr implies to Sansa that Olenna poisoned the king, with some help from himself and the people he used, especially Dontos. He refers to Olenna straightening Sansa's hair net, implying that this was the moment the old woman took a black [[amethyst]] (actually a crystallized form of the [[strangler]]), which she used to poison Joffrey. Petyr suggests that Olenna killed Joffrey to spare her granddaughter Margaery from the same cruelty the boy showed Sansa, and to prevent her hot-tempered grandson, Ser [[Loras Tyrell|Loras]] of the [[Kingsguard]], from becoming a [[kingslayer]] if he witnessed the king mistreating his sister. Petyr also shares how he planted disturbing rumors about Joffrey's character while he was at Highgarden, prompting Olenna's questioning Sansa when they first met. According to Petyr, Olenna knew Mace dreamed of his daughter Margaery becoming queen, and for that they needed a king, but they did not need Joffrey, as Margaery could marry his brother, Prince [[Tommen Baratheon]].{{Ref|ASOS|68}}


Lady Olenna also voices a scathing opinion on the way her son, [[Mace Tyrell]], is going about playing the game of thrones, much to Sansa's amazement:
===''A Feast for Crows''===
{{Quote| ‘If truth be told, even our claim to [[Highgarden]] is a bit dodgy, just as those dreadful [[House Florent|Florents]] are always whining. "What does it matter," you ask, and of course it doesn't, except to oafs like my son. The thought that one day he might see his grandson with his arse on the [[Iron Throne]] makes Mace puff up like ... now, what do you call it? Margaery, you're clever, be a dear and tell your poor old half-daft grandmother the name of that queer fish from the [[Summer Isles]] that puffs up to ten times its own size when you poke it.'
[[File:OlennaRedwyne by MikeyBooch.jpg|thumb|350px|Olenna Tyrell by Mikey Booch ©]]
After [[Tyrion Lannister]] murders his father, [[Tywin Lannister]], and escapes the Red Keep, [[Qyburn]] informs Queen Regent [[Cersei Lannister]] that a [[gold]] [[currency|coin]] dating from the time of [[House Gardener]] had been found in the quarters of an undergaoler named [[Rugen]] (actually an alias of [[Varys]]), who vanished at the time Tyrion did.{{Ref|AFFC|7}} From Lady [[Taena of Myr|Taena Merryweather]], Cersei also learns that Olenna keeps a large chest of Gardener gold from before [[Aegon's Conquest]] in her wheelhouse. In the event that unwary tradespeople offend her, she pays them in the old gold coins of the [[Reach]], which are only half the weight of newly minted gold dragons.{{Ref|AFFC|16}} Both pieces of information make Cersei suspect that the Tyrells were involved in the escape of Tyrion and in the assassination of Lord Tywin.{{Ref|AFFC|24}}


'They call them puff fish, Grandmother.'
Lady Olenna attends the wake for Tywin  with her family. Cersei informs Lord [[Mace Tyrell]] that she has appointed Lord [[Gyles Rosby]] as [[master of coin]] instead of Mace's uncle [[Garth Tyrell|Garth]], although the position had been promised to the [[House Tyrell|Tyrells]] by Tywin. When Mace tries to protest, Olenna eases the tension, but not without making some inappropriate remarks about both Gyles and Garth. She also alludes to the smell emanating from Tywin's corpse, making Cersei angry. When Cersei suggests that Olenna would want to return to [[Highgarden]] soon, she replies that she cannot leave [[King's Landing]] before the wedding of [[Margaery Tyrell|Margaery]] and King [[Tommen Baratheon|Tommen I Baratheon]]. She mentions that she had been discussing a date for the wedding with Tywin at the time of his death and proposes to talk about this with Cersei soon.{{Ref|AFFC|7}}


'Of course they do, Summer Islanders have no imagination. My son ought to take the puff fish for his sigil, if truth be told. He could put a crown on it, the way the [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]] do their stag, perhaps that would make him happy. We should have stayed well out of all this bloody foolishness if you ask me, but once the cow's been milked there's no squirting the cream back up her udder. After Lord Puff Fish put that crown on [[Renly Baratheon|Renly's]] head, we were into the pudding up to our knees, so here we are to see things through.'
In the negotiations with Cersei on the marriage between Tommen and Margaery, Olenna drives a hard bargain. She insists on an immediate wedding, much to Cersei's dismay,{{Ref|AFFC|39}} and she also dismisses Cersei's suggestion that Tommen should wed his bride with a cloak in [[House Lannister|Lannister]] instead of [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]] colors.{{Ref|AFFC|12}} Olenna, vouching for her granddaughter still being a maiden,{{Ref|AFFC|43}} also proposes that Tommen and Margaery share their bed as soon as they are married. Cersei, horrified by the suggestion, refuses this. However, Olenna is adamant that the royal couple should at least spend the wedding night together, as anything else would mean ill luck for the marriage. Cersei relents on this point, but she later regrets her concession and arranges for her brother, Ser [[Jaime Lannister]], to make certain that nothing happens between Tommen and Margaery that night.{{Ref|AFFC|12}}
{{Ref|aSoS|6}}}}


Olenna plots with Margaery to marry Sansa to her grandson [[Willas Tyrell|Willas]] without letting her son Mace know about it.{{Ref|aSoS|6}} However, Sansa unwisely tells [[Dontos Hollard]] about the plan{{Ref|aSoS|28}} and Dontos supposedly shares the information with [[Petyr Baelish]]. Littlefinger foils the plot by telling Lord [[Tywin Lannister|Tywin]] about it, who quickly marries Sansa to his own son, [[Tyrion Lannister]].{{Ref|aSoS|19}}{{Ref|aSoS|28}}  
During [[Wedding of Tommen I Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell|the wedding feast]], Olenna complains mockingly that "[[The Rains of Castamere]]" is not being sung. The nasty smile of the Queen of Thorns makes Cersei, who is increasingly wary of all Tyrells, think of [[Maggy the Frog]], although the two hardly look alike. Later that night, Olenna suggests to break up the feast and send king and queen to bed together.{{Ref|AFFC|12}} The day after the wedding, Olenna returns to Highgarden with her grandson, Ser [[Garlan Tyrell|Garlan the Gallant]].{{Ref|AFFC|12}}


In turn, Olenna sabotages Lord Tywin's plan to marry his daughter [[Cersei Lannister|Cersei]] to Willas, the heir to [[Highgarden]]. After Mace Tyrell is originally inclined to accept the offer, Olenna belabors her son and talks him out of it, arguing that Cersei is too old and too used for Willas. Lord Tywin learns about this from [[Varys]] and shares the information with Tyrion, but orders Tyrion not to tell Cersei about the reason and rather act as if the offer has never been made.{{Ref|aSoS|32}}  
Tommen chooses the name ''[[Lady Olenna]]'' for one of the [[Cersei's dromonds|new dromonds]] being built for the [[royal fleet]].{{Ref|AFFC|28}}


Olenna seems to share the general aversion of the Tyrells against [[House Martell|the Martells]]. During an ugly confrontation in the yard of the [[Red Keep]], she calls [[Oberyn Martell]]'s paramour [[Ellaria Sand]] "the serpent's whore".{{Ref|aSoS|53}}
==Quotes by Olenna==
[[File:Olenna Redwyne.jpg|thumb|350px|Olenna Tyrell by Amok ©]]
{{Quote|All men are [[fool]]s, if truth be told, but the ones in motley are more amusing than ones with crowns.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}| Olenna to [[Sansa Stark]]}}


Olenna is present at the wedding of her granddaughter Margaery and King Joffrey at the [[Great Sept of Baelor]]. In the wedding procession after the ceremony, Ser [[Kevan Lannister]] excorts her out of the sept. Before the wedding feast in the throne room, Olenna approaches Sansa and expresses her condolences over the deaths of [[Robb Stark|Sansa's brother]] and [[Catelyn Tully|mother]]. While she talks with her, Olenna puts Sansa's messy hair in order and straightens the hair net that Sansa has received from Dontos and which he told her to wear at the wedding. Later, Olenna makes a snide remark about how often ''[[The Rains of Castamere]]'' is being performed during the wedding feast. When Joffrey begins to choke, she calls for help and later comforts Margaery.{{Ref|aSoS|60}}{{Ref|aSoS|61}}
{{Quote|There is entirely too much tut-tutting in [[Seven Kingdoms|this realm]], if you ask me. All these kings would do a deal better if they put down their swords and listened to their mothers.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}| Olenna to [[Sansa Stark]]}}


While revealing his own part in planning Joffrey's death, Littlefinger implies to Sansa Stark that Olenna is the one who poisoned the king, with some help from himself and the people he used, especially Dontos. He refers to Lady Olenna straightening Sansa's hair net, implying that this was the moment the old woman took the black stones (actually a crystallized form of [[The Strangler|the Strangler]]), which she used to poison Joffrey. Littlefinger suggests that Olenna killed Joffrey to spare her granddaughter Margaery from the same cruelty the boy showed Sansa and to prevent her hot-tempered grandson [[Loras Tyrell|Loras]] from becoming a kingslayer in case he, while serving in the [[Kingsguard]], had to witness the king mistreating his sister. Littlefinger also shares how he planted disturbing rumors about Joffrey's character while he was at Highgarden, prompting Lady Olenna's questioning Sansa when they first met. According to Littefinger, Olenna knew Mace dreamed of his daughter Margaery becoming queen and for that they needed a king, but they did not need Joffrey, as Margaery could also marry his brother [[Tommen Baratheon|Tommen]].{{Ref|aSoS|68}}
{{Quote|Hush, Alerie, don't take that tone with me. And don't call me Mother. If I'd given birth to you, I'm sure I'd remember. I'm only to blame for your husband, the [[Mace Tyrell|lord oaf of Highgarden]].{{Ref|ASOS|6}}| Olenna to [[Alerie Hightower]]}}


===''A Feast for Crows''===
{{Quote|Night falls for all of us in the end, and too soon for some. You would know that more than most, poor child. You've had your share of grief, I know. We are sorry for your losses.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}| Olenna to [[Sansa Stark]]}}
Lady Olenna attends the wake for Lord [[Tywin Lannister]] with her family. [[Cersei Lannister|Cersei]] informs Lord [[Mace Tyrell]] that she has appointed Lord [[Gyles Rosby]] as [[Master of Coin]] instead of Mace's uncle [[Garth Tyrell|Garth]], although the position had been promised to the [[House Tyrell|Tyrells]] by Lord Tywin. When Lord Mace tries to protest, Lady Olenna eases the tension, but not without making some inappropriate remarks about both Lord Rosby and Garth. She also alludes to the smell emanating from Lord Tywin's corpse, making Cersei angry. When Cersei suggests that Lady Olenna would want to return to [[Highgarden]] soon, she replies that she can't leave [[King's Landing]] before the wedding of [[Margaery Tyrell|Margaery]] and [[Tommen Baratheon|King Tommen]]. She mentions that she had been discussing a date for the wedding with Lord Tywin at the time of his death and proposes to talk about this with Cersei soon.{{Ref|aFfC|7}}


In the negotiations with Cersei on the marriage between Tommen and Margaery, Olenna drives a hard bargain. She insists on an immediate wedding, much to Cersei's dismay{{Ref|aFfC|39}}, and she also throws out Cersei's suggestion that Tommen should wed his bride with a cloak in [[House Lannister|Lannister]] instead of [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]] colors.{{Ref|aFfC|12}} Olenna, vouching for her granddaughter still being a maiden{{Ref|aFfC|43}}, also proposes that Tommen and Margaery share their bed as soon as they are married. Cersei, horrified by the suggestion, refuses this. However, Olenna is adamant that the royal couple should at least spend the wedding night together, as anything else would mean ill luck for the marriage. Cersei relents on this point, but she later regrets her concession and arranges for her brother [[Jaime Lannister|Jaime]] to make certain that nothing happens between Tommen and Margaery that night.{{Ref|aFfC|12}}
==Quotes about Olenna==
[[File:Olenna redwyne by daenerys mod.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Olenna by Elia Fernandez ©]]
{{Quote|'''Sansa''': The Queen of Thorns, she's called. Isn't that right?<br>
'''Loras''': It is. You'd best not use that name in her presence, though, or you're like to get pricked.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}| [[Loras Tyrell]] to [[Sansa Stark]]}}


During the wedding feast, Olenna complains mockingly that ''[[The Rains of Castamere]]'' isn't being sung. The nasty smile of the Queen of Thorns makes Cersei, who is increasingly wary of all Tyrells, think of [[Maggy the Frog]], although the two actually hardly look alike. Later that night, Olenna is the one suggesting to break up the feast and send king and queen to bed together.{{Ref|aFfC|12}}
{{Quote|Why, she's just the littlest bit of a thing. There was nothing the least bit thorny about her.{{Ref|ASOS|6}}| [[Sansa Stark]]'s thoughts}}


The day after the wedding, Olenna returns to [[Highgarden]] with her grandson, Ser [[Garlan Tyrell]].{{Ref|aFfC|12}}
{{Quote|Tyrion was beginning to wonder whether Lord [[Luthor Tyrell]] had ridden off that cliff intentionally.{{Ref|ASOS|60}}| [[Tyrion Lannister]]'s thoughts}}


Following [[Tyrion Lannister|Tyrion's]] escape, [[Qyburn]] informed Cersei that a gold coin dating from the time of [[House Gardener]] has been found in the quarters of an undergaoler named [[Rugen]] (actually an alias of [[Varys]]), who vanished at the time Tyrion did.{{Ref|aFfC|7}} From Lady [[Taena of Myr|Taena Merryweather]], Cersei also learns that Olenna keeps a large chest of gold from before the [[War of Conquest|Conquest]] in her wheelhouse. In the event that unwary tradespeople offend her, she pays them in the old gold coins of the [[Reach]], which are only half the weight of newly minted gold dragons.{{Ref|aFfC|16}} Both pieces of information make Cersei suspect that the Tyrells were involved in the escape of Tyrion and in the assassination of Lord Tywin.{{Ref|aFfC|24}}
{{Quote|The old woman is not boring, though, I'll grant her that. A fearsome old harridan, and not near as frail as she pretends.{{Ref|ASOS|68}}| [[Petyr Baelish]] to [[Sansa Stark]]}}


==Family==
==Family==
{{Template:Redwyne tree}}
{{Redwyne tree}}
 
==References==
{{References|3}}


==References and Notes==
{{S-start}}
{{references|3}}
{{S-vac|unknown}}
{{S-ttl|title=Lady consort of [[Highgarden]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Alerie Hightower]]}}
{{S-end}}


[[Category:Noblewomen|Redwyne, Olenna]]
[[Category:House Redwyne]]
[[Category:Characters from the Reach|Redwyne, Olenna]]
[[Category:House Tyrell]]
[[Category:House Tyrell]]
[[Category:House Redwyne]]
[[Category:228 AC births|Tyrell, Olenna]]
[[Category:Characters from the Reach|Tyrell, Olenna]]
[[Category:Characters with white hair|Redwyne, Olenna]]
[[Category:Members of Joffrey I Baratheon's court|Tyrell, Olenna]]
[[Category:Members of Tommen I Baratheon's court|Tyrell, Olenna]]
[[Category:Noblewomen|Tyrell, Olenna]]
[[Category:Toothless characters|Tyrell, Olenna]]
 
[[es:Olenna Redwyne]]
[[es:Olenna Redwyne]]
[[fa:اولنا ردواین]]
[[fr:Olenna Tyrell]]
[[fr:Olenna Tyrell]]
[[pt:Olenna Tyrell]]
[[ru:Оленна Тирелл]]
[[ru:Оленна Тирелл]]
[[zh:奥莲娜·雷德温]]
[[zh:奥莲娜·雷德温]]

Latest revision as of 01:01, 19 August 2026

Lady
Olenna Tyrell
the Queen of Thorns
Image of Olenna Tyrell
Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns, by Borja Pindado © Fantasy Flight Games
Aliases
Titles
Allegiances
Culture Reach
Born 228 AC[5]
the Arbor[2]
Father Runceford Redwyne[6]
Spouse Lord Luthor Tyrell[3]
Issue
Books
Played by Diana Rigg
TV series Game of Thrones:
Season 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Olenna Tyrell,[3][7][8] née Redwyne,[1][2] is the widow of Lord Luthor Tyrell and the mother of Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden. Born into House Redwyne of the Arbor, she is commonly known as the Queen of Thorns because of her sharp tongue.[9]

In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, Olenna is portrayed by Dame Diana Rigg.

Appearance and Character

[edit]
See also: Images of Olenna Redwyne
Olenna by Jeff Lee Johnson © Fantasy Flight Games

Lady Olenna is a small woman,[3] the size of a child.[10] The white-haired lady appears wrinkled[8] and wizened.[3] She has soft, spotted hands, with gaunt thin fingers.[3] Olenna smells of rosewater, but she also has has an old woman's sour breath[3] and toothless smiles.[7][10] Olenna walks with a cane,[7] and claims to be near deaf,[3] but both might be part of her feigning to be more frail than she actually is.[11] Olenna is older than Lord Hoster Tully.[3]

Olenna rarely shies from stating her opinion, and is a cunning old woman with a wicked wit and a sharp tongue. This has earned her the moniker "Queen of Thorns", though she does not care for the name.[3] According to her granddaughter Margaery, she is not the most patient of women.[3] Although Olenna regularly mocks members of her own family,[3][10] she seems to be a staunch supporter of Tyrell family interests.[11][8]

Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard thinks of the Queen of Thorns as a strong woman.[12]

History

[edit]
Olenna Tyrell in her youth and old age, by Amuelia ©

Olenna Redwyne was betrothed to Prince Daeron Targaryen when they were both nine,[1] but she claims she did everything she could to make sure it never came to fruition.[3] According to maesters, it was Daeron who broke the betrothal when they were eighteen in 246 AC,[1] but Olenna speaks contemptuously of the "queer notions" of House Targaryen and Baratheon, presumably referring to Targaryen madness as well as to Renly Baratheon and Daeron's homosexuality.[3]

Olenna later married Luthor Tyrell, the heir to Highgarden, who had also been spurned by his own Targaryen betrothed.[1] At some point Luthor became Lord of Highgarden, and he and Olenna had three children together, Mace, Mina, and Janna.[4] Olenna says she loved Luthor well enough, as he was kind and not unskilled in bed, but she still considered him an oaf. An example she cites is that Luthor rode off a cliff to his death while hawking, because he had been looking up at the sky and not paying attention to where his horse was going. Olenna feels that her son Mace is also an oaf, and regrets that she did not beat him more often when he was a child, as that would have made him more ready to heed her advice as an adult.[3] Olenna's nephew is Paxter Redwyne, Lord of the Arbor,[13] who is also married to her daughter Mina Tyrell.[4]

Olenna has twin guardsmen named Erryk and Arryk, whom she refers to as "Left and Right" because she cannot tell them apart.[3]

Recent Events

[edit]

A Clash of Kings

[edit]

After the death of King Renly Baratheon, Lord Petyr Baelish is sent to Bitterbridge[14] and Highgarden[11] to negotiate an alliance between House Lannister and House Tyrell, including a marriage between King Joffrey I Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell, Renly's widow and Olenna's granddaughter.[14] During the negotiations, Lady Olenna asks Petyr pointed questions about Joffrey's nature. Petyr highly praises Joffrey, but secretly uses some of his escorts to plant disturbing rumors about the king among the servants at Highgarden, thereby creating doubts about the truth of his official statements.[11]

A Storm of Swords

[edit]
Olenna having dinner with Margaery Tyrell and Sansa Stark - by Drazenka Kimpel; ©Fantasy Flight Games

Lady Olenna comes to King's Landing to attend the wedding of Margaery to Joffrey. Olenna and Lady Alerie Hightower arrive in a wheelhouse decorated with gilded carvings of roses.[3]

During a supper with Margaery and a number of noble ladies of houses sworn to the Tyrells, Olenna questions Sansa Stark about Joffrey's nature. She refuses to listen to Sansa's evasions and half truths about Joffrey, and gets Sansa to speak the truth about Joffrey's cruelty and the beatings he gave her. To prevent any potential spy from listening to Sansa, Olenna orders her jester, Butterbumps, to sing loudly. She speaks dismissively of Renly Baratheon, Margaery's late husband, blaming his desire to be king on the "queer notions" of House Baratheon, which she believes comes from their Targaryen blood. Olenna also compares her son, Lord Mace, to a puff fish of the Summer Isles.[3]

Olenna plots with Margaery to have Sansa marry her grandson Willas, without letting Lord Mace know about it.[3] However, Sansa unwisely tells Dontos Hollard about the plan,[15] and Dontos shares the information with his secret employer, Petyr Baelish. Lord Baelish foils the plot by telling Lord Tywin Lannister about it, and the Hand has Sansa quickly married to his own son, Tyrion.[16][15]

In turn, Olenna sabotages Tywin's plan to marry his widowed daughter, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, to Willas, the heir to Highgarden. Although Mace is originally inclined to accept the offer, Olenna belabors her son and talks him out of it, arguing that Cersei is "too old and too used" for Willas. Tywin learns about this from Lord Varys and shares the information with Tyrion. Tywin orders Tyrion not to tell Cersei about the reason and rather act as if the offer has never been made.[17]

Olenna and her guards, Erryk and Arryk, by Diego Gisbert Llorens, © FFG

Olenna seems to share the general aversion of the Tyrells against House Martell. During an ugly confrontation in the yard of the Red Keep, she calls Oberyn Martell's paramour, Ellaria Sand, "the serpent's whore".[18]

Olenna is present at the wedding of her granddaughter Margaery and King Joffrey at the Great Sept of Baelor. In the wedding procession after the ceremony, Ser Kevan Lannister escorts her out of the sept. Olenna wears a heavy cloth-of-gold gown. Before the wedding feast in the throne room, Olenna approaches Sansa and expresses her condolences over the deaths of her brother, King Robb Stark, and mother, Lady Catelyn Stark, at the Red Wedding. While she talks with her, Olenna puts Sansa's wind-blown hair in order and straightens the silver hair net that Sansa had received from Dontos and which he told her to wear at the wedding. Later, Olenna makes a snide remark about how often "The Rains of Castamere" is being performed during the wedding feast. When Joffrey begins to choke after drinking from his wedding chalice and eating pigeon pie, Olenna calls for help and comforts Margaery. Cersei accuses Tyrion of having poisoned her son after Joffrey dies.[7]

While later revealing his part in planning Joffrey's death, Petyr implies to Sansa that Olenna poisoned the king, with some help from himself and the people he used, especially Dontos. He refers to Olenna straightening Sansa's hair net, implying that this was the moment the old woman took a black amethyst (actually a crystallized form of the strangler), which she used to poison Joffrey. Petyr suggests that Olenna killed Joffrey to spare her granddaughter Margaery from the same cruelty the boy showed Sansa, and to prevent her hot-tempered grandson, Ser Loras of the Kingsguard, from becoming a kingslayer if he witnessed the king mistreating his sister. Petyr also shares how he planted disturbing rumors about Joffrey's character while he was at Highgarden, prompting Olenna's questioning Sansa when they first met. According to Petyr, Olenna knew Mace dreamed of his daughter Margaery becoming queen, and for that they needed a king, but they did not need Joffrey, as Margaery could marry his brother, Prince Tommen Baratheon.[11]

A Feast for Crows

[edit]
Olenna Tyrell by Mikey Booch ©

After Tyrion Lannister murders his father, Tywin Lannister, and escapes the Red Keep, Qyburn informs Queen Regent Cersei Lannister that a gold coin dating from the time of House Gardener had been found in the quarters of an undergaoler named Rugen (actually an alias of Varys), who vanished at the time Tyrion did.[10] From Lady Taena Merryweather, Cersei also learns that Olenna keeps a large chest of Gardener gold from before Aegon's Conquest in her wheelhouse. In the event that unwary tradespeople offend her, she pays them in the old gold coins of the Reach, which are only half the weight of newly minted gold dragons.[13] Both pieces of information make Cersei suspect that the Tyrells were involved in the escape of Tyrion and in the assassination of Lord Tywin.[19]

Lady Olenna attends the wake for Tywin with her family. Cersei informs Lord Mace Tyrell that she has appointed Lord Gyles Rosby as master of coin instead of Mace's uncle Garth, although the position had been promised to the Tyrells by Tywin. When Mace tries to protest, Olenna eases the tension, but not without making some inappropriate remarks about both Gyles and Garth. She also alludes to the smell emanating from Tywin's corpse, making Cersei angry. When Cersei suggests that Olenna would want to return to Highgarden soon, she replies that she cannot leave King's Landing before the wedding of Margaery and King Tommen I Baratheon. She mentions that she had been discussing a date for the wedding with Tywin at the time of his death and proposes to talk about this with Cersei soon.[10]

In the negotiations with Cersei on the marriage between Tommen and Margaery, Olenna drives a hard bargain. She insists on an immediate wedding, much to Cersei's dismay,[20] and she also dismisses Cersei's suggestion that Tommen should wed his bride with a cloak in Lannister instead of Baratheon colors.[8] Olenna, vouching for her granddaughter still being a maiden,[21] also proposes that Tommen and Margaery share their bed as soon as they are married. Cersei, horrified by the suggestion, refuses this. However, Olenna is adamant that the royal couple should at least spend the wedding night together, as anything else would mean ill luck for the marriage. Cersei relents on this point, but she later regrets her concession and arranges for her brother, Ser Jaime Lannister, to make certain that nothing happens between Tommen and Margaery that night.[8]

During the wedding feast, Olenna complains mockingly that "The Rains of Castamere" is not being sung. The nasty smile of the Queen of Thorns makes Cersei, who is increasingly wary of all Tyrells, think of Maggy the Frog, although the two hardly look alike. Later that night, Olenna suggests to break up the feast and send king and queen to bed together.[8] The day after the wedding, Olenna returns to Highgarden with her grandson, Ser Garlan the Gallant.[8]

Tommen chooses the name Lady Olenna for one of the new dromonds being built for the royal fleet.[22]

Quotes by Olenna

[edit]
Olenna Tyrell by Amok ©

All men are fools, if truth be told, but the ones in motley are more amusing than ones with crowns.[3]

— Olenna to Sansa Stark

There is entirely too much tut-tutting in this realm, if you ask me. All these kings would do a deal better if they put down their swords and listened to their mothers.[3]

— Olenna to Sansa Stark

Hush, Alerie, don't take that tone with me. And don't call me Mother. If I'd given birth to you, I'm sure I'd remember. I'm only to blame for your husband, the lord oaf of Highgarden.[3]

— Olenna to Alerie Hightower

Night falls for all of us in the end, and too soon for some. You would know that more than most, poor child. You've had your share of grief, I know. We are sorry for your losses.[3]

— Olenna to Sansa Stark

Quotes about Olenna

[edit]
Olenna by Elia Fernandez ©

Sansa: The Queen of Thorns, she's called. Isn't that right?
Loras: It is. You'd best not use that name in her presence, though, or you're like to get pricked.[3]

— Loras Tyrell to Sansa Stark

Why, she's just the littlest bit of a thing. There was nothing the least bit thorny about her.[3]

— Sansa Stark's thoughts

Tyrion was beginning to wonder whether Lord Luthor Tyrell had ridden off that cliff intentionally.[7]

— Tyrion Lannister's thoughts

The old woman is not boring, though, I'll grant her that. A fearsome old harridan, and not near as frail as she pretends.[11]

— Petyr Baelish to Sansa Stark

Family

[edit]
 
 
Runceford
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Son
 
Unknown
wife
 
Olenna
 
Luthor
Tyrell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Paxter
 
Mina
Tyrell
 
Mace
Tyrell
 
Alerie
Hightower
 
Janna
Tyrell
 
Jon
Fossoway
 
Bethany
 
Mathis
Rowan
 
Desmond
 
Denyse
Hightower
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Horas
 
Hobber
 
Desmera
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Denys
 


References

[edit]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Olenna Redwyne.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 6, Sansa I.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 A Storm of Swords, Appendix.
  5. ↑ See the Olenna Redwyne calculation.
  6. ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 1, Tyrion I.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 60, Tyrion VIII.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 12, Cersei III.
  9. ↑ A Clash of Kings, Appendix.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 7, Cersei II.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 68, Sansa VI.
  12. ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 13, The Soiled Knight.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 16, Jaime II.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 36, Tyrion VIII.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 28, Sansa III.
  16. ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 19, Tyrion III.
  17. ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 32, Tyrion IV.
  18. ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 53, Tyrion VI.
  19. ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 24, Cersei V.
  20. ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 39, Cersei IX.
  21. ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 43, Cersei X.
  22. ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 28, Cersei VI.
Unknown Lady consort of Highgarden Succeeded by
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