Is The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die based on a true story?

The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die ends with some title cards sharing the events after Uhtred. Is the series based on a true story?

If you’ve watched The Last Kingdom all the way through, you’ll already know that there are places and people who resemble real history. Of course, this could just be a coincidence.

Then you’ll have gotten to the end of Seven Kings Must Die. At the very end, there are statements about King Aethelstan and Bebbanburg Castle, which is now known as Bamburgh. Is it possible that the movie (and the show as a whole) is based on a true story? Did Uhtred, son of Uhtred, really exist?

Seven Kings Must Die is loosely based on history

The Last Kingdom is one of those shows that is loosely based on history. Uhtred is not based on a real person from history, but he may have existed. Something that King Alfred (who is based on the real King Alfred who had a dream of a united England) points out is that he won’t write Uhtred into the history books. Uhtred will be forgotten about, and that’s something that could happen.

Aethelstan tells Uhtred at the end of Seven Kings Must Die that he will write Uhtred in. Uhtred doesn’t want that, and Finan explains at the end of the movie that nobody knows if Uhtred lived or die.

However, the story as a whole of kings trying to unite England is true. King Alfred did want that, and his son Edward continued that vision. Edward’s son Aethelstan did become on of England’s greatest kings. It just wasn’t until 1066 that the kingdoms of England did end up being united and the Danes stopped attacking.

The problem with history is that it’s all written by the victors. They choose who is left in the story and who isn’t. So, historians then have to figure things out from multiple pieces of text. Historical fiction gets the opportunity to add in some drama and fictionalized elements to tell the full story, and that’s something The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die did.

It is worth noting that Bebbanburg was a real place. It is now known as Bamburgh Castle. It is a huge visitor attraction. It’s also worth noting that the book series that the show is based on is also based on real history. Bernard Cornwell did his homework just like Diana Gabaldon has done with Outlander.

Seven Kings Must Die is now streaming on Netflix.