Being born into one of the richest families in Britain, Jaime has never gone wanting. During his childhood, Jaime was raised to be nothing more than a suitable successor to his father Tywin’s property empire. He was sent to Oxford Brookes University at the age of eighteen to study Planning and Property Development and gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in this field. Shortly upon finishing his course and returning home, he was offered a job by Aerys Targaryen to become part of his elite guard as a way of aligning the Lannisters with the Targaryens’ re-election campaign. Tywin planned to have Jaime leave Aerys service once Jaime’s twin sister Cersei and Rhaegar Targaryen were engaged, but when it was revealed Rhaegar was to marry Elia Martell, Jaime was forced to stay in Aerys’ guard so that the Lannister’s could rely upon Targaryen protection when it came to some of their more lucrative areas of business.
However, as the Targaryens became less popular with the public due to rising taxes, unemployment rates and dissent among the middle class, Jaime began to question his loyalty to the Prime Minister. Seeing an opportunity to be free of his ties to the Conservative party, he allied himself with Robert Baratheon, planning to become a temporary member of the Labour party’s “brute force” protection unit until the end of the election. This decision was met with much confusion and accusation by the media and public – some even believing Jaime was involved in an attempt upon Aerys’ life – earning him many enemies among both Arryn and Targaryen supporters. After taking a brief break from politics during Jon Arryn’s reign as PM, he returned to London as part of Robert Baratheon’s security detail.
