Cryptic crossword clue
King George et al protecting male family members 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word GRANDMOTHERS

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "family members" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case family members = grandmothers.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does GRANDMOTHERS mean?

GRANDMOTHERS noun
  1. A mother of someone's parent.
  2. A female ancestor or progenitor.

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