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| “ | The only Lord in the Seven Kingdoms who could field an army out of his breeches.
— Catelyn Tully's thoughts on Walder Frey
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Lord Walder Frey is head of House Frey and Lord of the Crossing. He is a proud man who has been married 8 times and has fathered at least 28 children.
Lord Walder has known ninety-one name days, but only recently took his eighth wife, a girl seventy years his junior. He is said to be the eldest man in all Westeros after Maester Aemon.
Appearance and Character[]
see also Images of Walder Frey
Although he brags that he can still produce progeny, Walder Frey is brittle and confined to a chair. He is known as the second eldest man in Westeros, and age has made him bald and toothless with loose skin.
Despite his allegiance with Hoster Tully, he arrived late at The Battle of the Trident; and therefore he is considered an untrustworthy man. Indeed, Walder Frey is prickly, capricious, a merciless cynic, and an altogether extremely unpleasant man.
Walder Frey has a fiercely greedy and self-serving reputation, and even though he proclaims that he is forgiving and loyal, he will never intervene in conflict if he is not completely assured that he will suffer no dangers as a result. Because of him, House Frey's already tenuous reputation has become disgraceful, and all Walder sees fit to do is to complain about this and continue to deserve the contempt of noble houses throughout Westeros.
History[]
At a young age, he travelled to Whitewalls for the wedding of his older sister and Lord Ambrose Butterwell. Reportedly he caused the wedding after he discovered his sister engaging in inappropriate relations with a servant at the Twins.
During Robert's Rebellion, he sided with liege lord, Hoster Tully, against the Iron Throne, but only after the rebel victory at the Battle of the Trident, earning himself the nickname, the Late Lord Frey.
Books[]
A Game of Thrones[]
Walder Frey is slow to answer the call to arms of Ser Edmure Tully at the outbreak of the War of the Five Kings. Catelyn Stark negotiates a deal between Walder and Robb Stark, allowing Robb to use the crossing in exchange for two marriage pacts, betrothing Robb to one of Walder's daughters and Arya to Walder's youngest son, Elmar. Two of Walder's grandsons, Little Walder and Big Walder, are sent to ward at Winterfell and Olyvar is made Robb Stark's squire.
A Storm of Swords[]
Walder pulls his support for Robb's cause after he marries Jeyne Westerling instead of the Frey bride that was promised to him. Lothar Frey is sent to negotiate a deal with Robb and agrees to forgive as long as Edmure marries a Frey in Robb's stead.
At the wedding of Edmure and Roslin Frey, Walder conspires with Tywin Lannister and Roose Bolton to kill Robb and his mother, seizing Edmure in the process. This became known as the Red Wedding. For his part in the conspiracy, Walder's second son, Emmon, was given the title and incomes of Riverrun.