The Royal Knights seem to be the “good guys” in the late-1990s Lego Castle universe.  They have a king with a shiny sword.  They have knights with horses and helmets.  They have an enormous castle and a drawbridge.  All very Royal and Castley, but I feel that the Lego Castle universe would be a little boring if inhabited only by the Royal Knights; they need some friction with rival factions to keep it interesting.

Let’s have a look at the Royal Knights…

First up is a Crossbow Boat!  Most Castle sets have a Crossbow Cart of some sort but these guys have a boat.  Maybe because they have castles with moats and drawbridges and therefore require boats to patrol these?

If you were sneaking around looking to steal some treasure, you might bump into a Skeleton Surprise!  This sneaky skeleton can hide on the ceiling of his little hideout and then swing down and frighten any intruders.

If you have an enormous Royal castle which the Dragon Knights or other no-goods might try to invade then of course you need a Royal Drawbridge to protect it.  Complete with skeleton (of course) hiding under one of the ramps and a treasure chest (again, of course) under the other side.  And a Dragon Knight on a horse thinking about trying to cross it.  Let’s have another look at the Dragon Knight…

His shield is blue rather than green as most of the Dragon Knights are for some reason.  Lots of good stuff going on here – a shiny sword like the Royal King, a helmet with Dragon embellishments, a horse with war armour.

And once you cross the drawbridge you find the Royal Knights’ Castle.  A castle fit for a king in fact.  With turrets and drawbridges and enormous gates and a portcullis and lots of guards.  Also a ghost and a skeleton for scary factor.

This is the Royal Castle Crew.  Back row from left: Bones the skeleton, Sir Legolot, King Simon, Sir Plastival, Ghostly the ghost.  From row from left: Geoff and Jim the pikemen, Norm and Cliff the swordsmen, and Oliver and Roger the archers.

Sometimes the King goes for a ride on his own, hence the Royal King.  Perhaps he thinks that he is in disguise by not wearing his plume on his helmet?

The Royal Knights are easily recognisable by their red, white and blue colours and their lion emblem which appears on both small and large shields, on their clothing and on some flags.  The knights and the king have plumes on their helmets.  The construction of their buildings naturally includes turrets and battlements in greys and black.  The castle has gargoyles on the roof tops.