Emperor ' s Royal Guard The Emperor ' s Royal Guard , also referred to as the Imperial Royal Guard or Imperial Guard , was an elite order of protectors assigned to Emperor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Empire . Armed with force pike s and fully clad in their anonymous helmets and crimson robe s , the Royal Guards were a silent , imposing , and deadly force in the Emperor ' s service . In addition to strict requirements of height , strength , intelligence , and loyalty , only the most capable soldier s in the Imperial Military qualified for duty in the ranks of the Royal Guard . Prior to the Imperial Era , the Senate Guard was responsible for the security of the Supreme Chancellor and the Galactic Senate of the Republic . Their service to the government ' s executive branch diminished under the chancellery of Palpatine , who gradually supplemented the Senate Guards with clone shock trooper s of the Coruscant Guard along with a new force of bodyguards known as the Red Guard . Recruited from the ranks of the Senate Guard , the Red Guards steadily supplanted their counterparts as the protectors of Chancellor Palpatine over the course of the Clone Wars . With the end of the war and the Proclamation of the New Order in 19 BBY , the newly - anointed Emperor Palpatine retained the red - robed guards — now a force of royal bodyguards — whereas the Senate Guard was disbanded and replaced by Imperial stormtroopers and the Royal Guard . On occasion if needed or ordered by Palpatine , they could take orders from his apprentice , Darth Vader . History . Republic Era . Known simply as the " Red Guard " , they were formed by Sheev Palpatine after he was elected Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate . Recruited from the ranks of the Senate Guard , the Red Guards were slowly brought in by Palpatine to replace their blue - clad counterparts . Their red robe s melted in with the red decor of the Chancellor ' s office and they were stationed at the entrance even prior to the start of the Clone Wars . However , Palpatine did not always have them present and more often than not still depended on the protection of the elite Senate Commando s . It would also be well into the war before Palpatine stepped out in public with the Red Guards who remained silent and imposing . Imperial Era . At the end of the war Palpatine declared himself Emperor and reorganized the Republic into the Galactic Empire . The Emperor ' s Royal Guard formally took their position at Palpatine ' s side and were only occasionally relieved by the Coruscant Guard to accompany the Emperor off Coruscant . The Senate Guards themselves were phased out completely by the Royal Guard and the Imperial stormtrooper s . In 19 BBY , when Palpatine unveiled the Inquisitorius to Darth Vader , Royal Guards provided security to their center of operations located in the Works , as well as internal security when the Inquisitors were training . In 14 BBY , several Royal Guards accompanied Palpatine and Darth Vader during a mission to Ryloth designed to lure the Free Ryloth movement out of hiding . Several Royal Guards were killed when Palpatine and Vader ' s shuttle crash - landed in the planet Ryloth ' s equatorial forest . Two Royal Guards , a captain and Sergeant Erstin Deez , survived the crash - landing and escorted their Sith masters . The captain was later killed by lylek s but Deez survived long enough for Imperial reinforcements under Moff Delian Mors to rescue them . During the Galactic Civil War , the Royal Guards were often used in battle as assassin s , armed with force pike s , vibroblade s , and many other concealed weapons . During the liberation of Lothal , three Royal Guards were sent along Thrawn aboard the latter ' s flagship the " Chimaera " . After the Jedi padawan Ezra Bridger declined Palpatine ' s offer to help him control the world between worlds , the Dark Lord ordered the Imperial troops to execute the boy . The three Royal Guards entered the room and used some modified force pikes with magnetic clamp s to subdue him . Bridger however managed to hurl a few boulders and rocks at the incoming stormtroopers and crushed the guards . Despite their primary function being to safeguard the Emperor , Palpatine did not make exclusive use of them , as two Royal Guards were seen at one point on Mustafar in Vader ' s castle in 0 BBY protecting the vulnerable Sith Lord when Vaneé informed Vader of Director Orson Krennic ' s arrival to discuss the Death Star . Following the Battle of Yavin , two Royal Guards were stationed aboard the Emperor ' s luxury yacht " Imperialis " while it was undergoing a refit at Sienar Fleet Systems ' Orbital Shipyard CC - 24 above the planet Castell . These guards were guarding the ship ' s central chamber which stored several Sith artifact s including a Sith helmet sculpted by Lord Momin . After Lando Calrissian and his companions stole the " Imperialis " , one of the guards stabbed Lobot with his vibroblade . The guards were then killed by the alien clone warriors Aleksin and Pavol . Korin Pers discovered that the guards had been corrupted by the dark side of the Force . The Battle of Endor would prove to be the ultimate failure of the Royal Guards , though not of their own choice . Dismissed by their Emperor , the Guards exited the throne room , leaving Palpatine with Vader and his son , Luke Skywalker . During the encounter , Vader was redeemed , once again becoming Anakin Skywalker and , taking hold of the Emperor , he killed him by throwing him down a shaft into the station ' s reactor . New Republic era . After the death of Palpatine , General Jylia Shale had two guards as her escort for the secret summit on Akiva . In 5 ABY , two Royal Guards escorted Grand Admiral Rae Sloane for peace talks with the New Republic on the planet Chandrila . During the attack on Chandrila , these two guards attacked and eliminated five New Republic Senate Guards that had been guarding the Imperial entourage . Shortly after , the Imperial Security Bureau agent Arliz Hadrassian ' s brother served as a Royal Guard during the Battle of Jakku , in which he died . In 28 ABY , Hadrassian , who had become the leader of a First Order proxy militia called the Amaxine warriors , sold her brother ' s helmet to the Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo after deeming him to be pro - Imperial . In secret , Casterfo was assisting Senator Leia Organa ' s investigation into the Amaxine warriors and Rinnrivin Di ' s cartel . Legacy . The Emperor ' s Royal Guard of the Galactic Empire inspired the Elite Praetorian Guard who guarded Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order . Recruitment and training . The men and women who served in Palpatine ' s Royal Guard were the best of the Imperial forces , selected out of millions of soldier s . During the reign of the Empire , the Royal Guard consisted of conscripted soldiers and at least one former clone trooper . The height requirement for the Guards was 1 . 83 meter s , just like the regular Imperial stormtroopers . In addition to receiving advanced training in many forms of combat , the Royal Guards were trained to be unquestionably loyal to the Emperor . Each of Palpatine ' s orders was considered law and they would follow them through with no question or hesitation , including killing one of their own . The Royal Guards were also some of the few in the galaxy who could be trusted with the knowledge of the Emperor ' s true power as a Sith Lord as they would speak of it to no one , not even among themselves . Despite the extraordinary combat capabilities of the Royal Guards , the Emperor ' s own skills and power were such that he did not actually believe that he needed a bodyguard unit . However , he had found over the years that they served quite well to impress visitors , so he never felt inclined to dispense with them as a unit . Equipment . Royal Guards were completely covered in flowing blood - red robe s and featureless scarlet masks concealed their faces . They wielded force pikes , a type of melee weapon with a vibro - edged head . Additionally , each of their robes also hid a heavy blaster pistol , a vibroblade , and various other weaponry . When on the battlefield , Royal Guards would abandon their traditional weaponry in favor of combat effective arms , including the T - 21 light repeating blaster , Smart Rocket , and the Homing shot . Behind the scenes . The Emperor ' s Guards first appeared in the 1983 movie . Their design came from sketches by Nilo Rodis - Jamero . The conceptual drawings varied from centurion - like warriors to priest - like monks , but a common thread tying those designs together was the deep red hue .