The Royal Palace of Valaskjalf^[1] was the home of the Asgardian Royal Family and housed Odin's vault. As Ragnarök occurred, the palace was destroyed by Surtur with the rest of Asgard.

History[]

Odin's Wars[]

Odin, with his daughter and Executioner Hela by his side, led Asgard in a violent conquest, bringing all of the Nine Realms into Asgard's power. The plunder they brought back from their battles made Asgard the seat of a wealthy empire. Frescoes on the palace walls depicted the glorious conquests of the king and his daughter.

Hela's ambitions soon exceeded her father's, however, and she began plotting a wider and bloodier conquest of other worlds. After disagreeing with Odin, Hela attempted to seize the throne by force in a brief but bloody coup, massacring everyone in the Palace except Odin himself, who overpowered his daughter and banished her to the barren realm of Hel.

Odin proceeded to strike all reference to his tyrannical daughter from Asgardian art and record, ensuring she was forgotten by history. In particular, the frescoes of Hela's conquest were over time replaced with more domestic scenes of Odin with the new royal family: his wife Frigga and sons Thor and Loki.

The Berserkers, veterans of Hela's conquering armies, were buried with her pet wolf Fenris in the catacombs beneath Odin's Vault.^[2]

Aborted Coronation[]

As his sons Thor and Loki had grown into accomplished adults, Odin decided to resign from his position as King of Asgard and to leave the throne to his firstborn son Thor, trusting him with the mighty hammer Mjølnir. A somptuous ceremony was held in the Royal Palace. However, it was interrupted when Frost Giants, brought by Loki in an attempt to fool and eradicate them, broke into the Palace through Odin's Vault and tried to seize the Casket of Ancient Winters. However, they were defeated by the Destroyer, which did not keep Thor from devising an assault on Jotunheim.^[3]

War with the Frost Giants[]

During the Attack on Jotunheim, Loki discovered his true nature as a Frost Giant. He confronted Odin about this in Odin's Vault, where Loki's anger and Odin's exhaustion drove the latter into the Odinsleep. As Thor had been cast out of Asgard for his unworthy behavior, Loki took the throne and the Palace as the acting King of Asgard. After the Warriors Three went to Earth to find Thor, Loki went to Odin's Vault and sent the Destroyer to kill them all.

Afterwards, Loki allowed the Frost Giants, led by their king Laufey, to break into the Royal Palace to kill Odin. However, this was only a trick from the God of Mischief so that he could slay Laufey. Thor returned afterwards and confronted his brother, but Loki threw him out of the Palace with the power of Gungnir. After they left, Odin finally woke up and left his chambers to stop them.

Following Loki's defeat, Thor met with his father at the Royal Palace and admitted that he was not ready to be king.^[3]

Dark Elves' Invasion[]

Following his defeat at the Battle of New York, Loki was brought back to the Royal Palace where Odin sentenced him to be imprisoned in the Asgardian Dungeons for the rest of his life. After the Battle of Vanaheim and securing the Nine Realms, Thor also returned to the Palace.

After Jane Foster was infected by the Aether, Thor went to Earth and took her back to the Royal Palace so that she could be examined by Asgardian healers. Upon learning that Foster was a host to the Aether, Odin agreed to welcome her to the Royal Palace for her safety.

In the meantime, Malekith had Algrim imprisoned in the Royal Palace in preparation for the Sacking of Asgard. Algrim turned into the Kurse and broke free of his cell, releasing the other prisoners as well except Loki. At the Rainbow Bridge, the Dark Elves launched a raid with their Harrow ships and assaulted the Royal Palace. Although Heimdall tried to deploy a protective dome around the Palace, Kurse managed to take it down from inside, permanently damaging it and enabling one Harrow to break into the Palace. During the siege, the Palace's main hall was heavily damaged and Queen Frigga as well as many Einherjar were killed by Malekith and his soldiers. Odin's throne was also damaged by a Black Hole Grenade thrown by Malekith.

Enraged by the loss of his mother and the danger threatening Foster, Thor decided to secretly release his brother from prison and reclaimed the Harrow which had crashed into the Palace's hall to fly to Svartalfheim. There, Loki faked his death and returned to the Royal Palace before taking the appearance of Odin and ruling in his place after exiling his father to Earth.^[4]

Hela's Return[]

Following Odin's death, the Goddess of Death Hela broke free of her prison and went back to Asgard after casting out her brothers to Sakaar. After killing the Warriors Three and defeating an entire army of Einherjar, Hela seized the Royal Palace and the throne of Asgard, revealing the ancient frescoes depicting the true version of Asgard's history. Hela then went to Odin's Vault and used the Eternal Flame to revive her loyal Berserkers and her wolf Fenris.

As a resistance force tried to break into the Palace after Hela seized the throne, Hela sent her Berserkers to crush the rebellion and named Skurge her Executioner. After discovering that Hofund had been stolen, Hela ordered the Asgardians to gather in front of the Palace so that she would execute them one by one until the sword's location was disclosed to her. When one Asgardian chose to comply, Hela and Skurge left the Palace. In the meantime, Thor infiltrated the throne room and attracted Hela's attention by knocking the ground with Gungnir. Hela came back and ordered Thor to give her the throne, after which the two Gods began to fight. Hela was ultimately thrown out of the Palace when Thor fully awakened his powers.^[2]

Destruction[]

Thor and Loki figured out that the only way of defeating Hela was causing Ragnarök. Loki went to Odin's Vault and used the Eternal Flame on the Crown of Black Fire, reviving the fearsome Fire Demon. Having recovered his full might, Surtur laid waste on Asgard and destroyed the Royal Palace.^[2]

Alternate Universes[]

Time Heist[]

In 2023, the Avengers initiated a Time Heist, where they used the Quantum Realm to time travel through the Multiverse into alternate past timelines in order to acquire all six Infinity Stones and resurrect the victims of Thanos' Snap. Arriving in Asgard of an alternate 2013, Thor and Rocket are assigned with extracting the Aether from Jane Foster during her brief stay at the royal palace.

While Thor conversed with Frigga, Rocket used a device to extract the Aether from Foster's body. The two then used the Quantum Realm to return to their timeline, with Thor bringing with him the 2013 version of Mjølnir. After the Battle of Earth, Steve Rogers journeyed to the alternate 2013 to return the Reality Stone in its solidified state along with Mjølnir back to Asgard.^[5]

Sylvie's Childhood[]

A young Sylvie Laufeydottir grew up in her own timeline's Royal Palace. One day, as Sylvie was peacefully playing inside, the TVA stepped through a Timedoor and took her into custody for, according to the TVA, creating a Nexus Event. Despite nothing happening in the moments leading up to her arrest, Sylvie was abducted by them regardless.^[6]

Thor's Party[]

In an alternate 2010, Odin entered the Odinsleep within the Royal Palace. With Odin asleep, Frigga departed the palace and Asgard to spend time with her sisters, leaving Thor to study at the Palace. However, Thor and his friends would sneak off to Midgard to party instead.^[7]

Age of Ultron[]

In an alternate 2015, Ultron successfully uploaded himself into a new synthezoid body, allowing him to desolate Earth entirely. Subsequently gaining the Infinity Stones after encountering and killing Thanos, Ultron furthered his genocidal mission on a universal scale. Eventually, Infinity Ultron and his forces arrived at Asgard, decimating it and the Royal Palace with it.^[8]

Void[]

In an alternate universe, the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf was pruned by the Time Variance Authority and transferred to the Void.^[9]

Mangog's Attack[]

In an alternate universe, Odin ruled Asgard from the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf. Frost Giants invaded Asgard, and Thor fought through them while Loki went to the palace to tell Loki about the invasion. Thor's fight brought him to the palace, where he defeated a Frost Goliath. The Goliath killed Sif as Odin and Loki joined Thor, who demanded that they go to war in retribution. Odin forbade it and returned to the palace, where he used the Odinforce to resurrect Sif in hopes of preventing a war. However, Loki manipulated Thor into going to Niflheim and releasing Mangog, who then attacked Asgard.

Loki attempted to use the Casket of Ancient Winters from to defeat Mangog from the palace, but it melted through the ice, worrying Loki. Loki then helped Thor return to Asgard, where he used the top of the palace as a base of operations to fight through the Jötuns and Infernir that Mangog had summoned to attack. Loki warned Thor of a bomb, which Thor then went to deal with. He then returned to the palace and took Loki to help defeat Mangog.^[10]

Known Residents[]

• Odin
• Frigga
• Hela
• Thor
• Loki
• Various Einherjar
• Jane Foster (briefly)

Layout[]

The Royal Palace is an enormous structure connected to the rest of Asgard. It contains many bedrooms, chambers, and corridors, as well as other rooms. It contains Odin's throne room, the Hlidskjalf. Below it lies the Asgardian Dungeons.

Places[]

Appearances[]

Appearances for Royal Palace of Valaskjalf

In chronological order: Thor (flashback) Loki Season One The Nexus Event (flashback) Thor Thor: The Dark World Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season One The Well (footage) Avengers: Endgame (alternate universe) What If...? Season One What If... Thor Were an Only Child? (alternate universe) What If... Ultron Won? (alternate universe) Thor: Ragnarok Avengers: Endgame (mentioned) Thor: Love and Thunder (depiction) Loki Season One Glorious Purpose (footage) Journey Into Mystery (illusion; Void) Deadpool & Wolverine (Void)

Trivia[]

• The palace has an organ shape resembling the Hallgrímskirkja, or Church of Hallgrímur, the Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland.
• Between Thor and Thor: The Dark World, the palace underwent several design changes. The overall structure was scaled down and given more detail, as well as rotated to be parallel to the Rainbow Bridge.

References[]