Lore:Blue Palace

The Blue Palace (also called Castle Solitude)  is a large castle found on the eastern end of the city of Solitude. It is the seat of power in Haafingar Hold, where the Jarls of Solitude and even the High Kingship of Skyrim occupy its grandiose and stately halls. The northeast wing contains the Jarl and their court's living quarters, while the southwest wing, known as Pelagius Wing is in a mass state of disrepair and avoided since the death of the eponymous Mad King of Solitude.  The Imperial Gardens in the palace courtyard contains a formal and motley assortment of various regional flora like thistle branches and Douad shrubs.  
 

History
First – Second Eras
The Blue Palace was built sometime before  . As the city expanded across the  , the Avenues District was one of the last places built in the city, and it all culminated into the Blue Palace, which is right on the tip of the arch, directly above the  . It later became the seat of power after the consolidation of Skyrim in the midst of High King  's ascension to the throne.  Before then, the Jarls of Haafingar ruled from the  , the citadel of Castle Dour atop of the hill in Solitude. 

In the late  , the people of Solitude laid siege against the Blue Palace, at the time occupied by High Queen "Head-Rolling"  , who killed over twenty rebels in less than five minutes. In that siege, Roleke was murdered in battle by her several children, who in turn died from their injuries. With no one else to rule,   of a long-forgotten hold was named the new King of Solitude, with blessings from   herself. Years later,   became the leader of Solitude and during his reign, suspicious accidents took place all over the city, and servants in the Blue Palace would hear strange chanting in the high king's quarters. After his death, the truth had been revealed when a secret compartment in his room had every skull of every victim in the past year. To this day, no one knows what Alldimar's intentions were for the collection but ever since then, he earned the moniker, "Ghostmaker". 

When High King   ruled over Solitude and the Kingdom of  , a royal delegation sent by the Warrior-Poet   traveled to the Blue Palace and presented the King with a table string now known as  . But because the court musicians denounced its sound, it sat in the Blue Palace for many years as a curiosity until it was discovered by the Master Bard of  ,   and later donated to the   by High King  . 

By the mid-sixth century of the  , the Blue Palace was occupied by High King Svargrim and High Queen  , until the latter was assassinated by the   in  .  The tragedy was the start of a series of events that threatened Western Skyrim as a whole. Princess  , along with  ,   of  , and an   would meet in the Blue Palace to discuss their plans against the Gray Host until the attack on Solitude.  The ceremony after their victory was held in the Blue Palace's courtyard and it had High King   in attendance. 

Third – Fourth Eras
In  , the elderly King   marries   of the  , who took residence in the Blue Palace. On several occasions, her mother, Dowager-Empress   visited the Blue Palace and was known to have frequently strolled through the Imperial Gardens.  Eventually, the King passes away and their son,   becomes the King of Solitude and rules jointly with his mother. Throughout the years, Wolf-Queen Potema invited various diplomats and political figures across the Empire's northern tier, from other kingdoms in Skyrim and nations in   and  . As time went on, the years of negotiation and intermingling culminated into the   in  . The conflict ended in favor of the Third Empire in  , after a month-long siege on the Blue Palace. The Wolf-Queen died in the palace and according to local myth, her spirit is infused within the castle and drives its ruler into madness. 

It is one of the several theories that explain the madness of King  . King Pelagius ruled after his aunt's death, by the order of his father, then King  .  He was infamous for his eccentric behavior and strange outbursts. He moved from the throne of Solitude to become the Emperor of Tamriel in  . His sister,   took his place as the Queen of Solitude.  Ever since his death in  , another myth is that his spirit haunts the southwest wing and ever since then, the Pelagius Wing has been abandoned, as far as  .  During the   in the late Third Era, the Solitude Palace was occupied by Queen Hania, who would often give out quests to any adventurer that approached her court. 

By the third century of the  , the Blue Palace was occupied by the Regent Jarl of Solitude,  .  At the time, she was in possession of a  , which was later stolen by the  , who in turn re-assembled the crown it belong to.  An   entered the Pelagius Wing after they were tipped off by a   looking for his  . Unbeknowst to the rest of the palace, the adventurer emerged from the abandoned wing with the  . 

Gallery
 

Notes
The Blue Palace has a hereditary office called the "Royal Cheesemonger." They go under a strict inspection of the milk imported into the city, determining which barrel is deemed worthy to make Solitude Eidar, the city's signature cheese. They are extremely rare and are preserved in the vaults underneath the city. This office was instated by Jarl  , who entered office in  . 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Skyrim and ESO articles.

References