Benjamin Mayhew IX

Protector Benjamin Mayhew IX is a fictional character in David Weber's Honor Harrington series of novels.

As Protector, Benjamin Mayhew IX is the hereditary head of state of the Protectorate of Grayson and the liege lord of the planet's feudal system of government. Unlike other monarchs in the Honorverse, such as the Queen of Manticore and the Andermani Emperor, Benjamin's powers as Protector have long been limited by tradition and the unwritten part of Grayson's Constitution.

Benjamin's education has been unusual for a citizen of Grayson, as he studied in Old Earth at Harvard University's Bogota campus, majoring in history and government science. His off-world education has led him to be an advocate for reform and liberalization of Grayson society, something that has often placed him at odds with the planet's traditionally conservative leadership.

After becoming Protector, Benjamin's reform projects were hampered by his traditionally limited powers and the opposition of the planet's great feudal lords, the Steadholders. The emergency of Grayson's sudden war with Masada gave him the opportunity to enforce Grayson's written Constitution (which actually gave him broad powers) and reassert the primacy of the Protector over the Steadholders. This "Mayhew Restoration", with its strong parallels to the Meiji Restoration, has led fans to compare Benjamin to Japan's Meiji Emperor. After the war, Benjamin formalized Grayson's alliance with Manticore against Haven and finally began his great reform of Grayson society.

A major ally in his reform drive has been Honor Harrington herself, whom Protector Benjamin appointed as Steadholder and as Admiral in the Grayson Navy as a reward for her services to Grayson and as an example of the place women could reach in society. Conversely, Benjamin has often come to the help of Honor Harrington when she needed it, and is one of Admiral Harrington's closest friends.

Like most Grayson males, Benjamin is polygamous; he has two wives, Katherine and Elaine, and is father to eight children: Rachel, Theresa, Jeanette, Honor, Bernard Raoul –the heir to the Protectorship under Grayson's male-heir line of succession–, Alexandra, Lawrence and Arabella. The Protector's unusual hobby is floriculture and flower arrangement.