The Senate Guard, also referred to as the Blue Guard, the Republic guard, the Defenders of Democracy, and colloquially referred to as Boys in Blue,» was an elite security force of the Galactic Republic. Its duties were to protect the Republic’s Galactic Senate and the Supreme Chancellor. The Senate Guard was centered on the galactic capital planet of Coruscant and as it was also responsible for protecting the Senate District, it shared policing jurisdiction with the Coruscant Security Force. Next to the Jedi Order, the Senate Guards were seen as the defenders of democracy and symbols of security, especially during the last centuries of the Republic when there was no standing army. The best of the Senate Guards would be invited to become a part of the elite Senate Commandos division who would carry out secret government missions. The Senate Guards were a frequent sight in the halls of the Senate Building and the Senate Office Building, their ceremonial uniforms and robes helping to blend in with the formal settings.
In the waning days of the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine formed a personal security detail of red-robed guards whom he favored over the Senate Guard. He additionally began to phase out the Senate Guard with the clone shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard. Eventually, as Galactic Emperor, Palpatine disbanded the Senate Guard altogether and replaced them with his Royal Guard and the stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire.
The Senate Guard was an old military and security institution that had been in service for centuries. In the aftermath of the Invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation, a detail of the Senate Guards accompanied Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum to a landing bay where the Chancellor and Senator Sheev Palpatine met the arriving Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala and her Jedi companions, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. Throughout the encounter, the Senate Guards stood watch over Valorum at a respectful distance, silent yet imposing. The crisis on Naboo saw the election of Palpatine, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith whose true identity was Darth Sidious, to the post of Supreme Chancellor. The Senate Guards took up the task of providing Palpatine with the same security detail afforded a chancellor. After Naboo had been freed by a coalition of the Naboo and the Gungans, the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine arrived with a contingent of the Senate Guard to congratulate the victors and participate in the awards ceremony.
While Finis Valorum no longer held the post of chancellor, he was still afforded protection by the Senate Guard. By 28 BBY, Chancellor Palpatine had formed his own personal bodyguards from the ranks of the Senate Guard who were dressed in crimson robes and armor. They would later be phased out with the Emperor’s Royal Guard. While they were present in the Chancellor’s office protecting the Chancellor during the Separatist Crisis, Palpatine would still retain the services of the Senate Guard as bodyguards throughout the Clone Wars that erupted between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, especially during the war’s early stages.