Was King Aethelstan gay in real life? The Last Kingdom history explained
The Last Kingdom?movie?Seven Kings Must Die?is out now on Netflix, finally bringing the tale of warlord Uhtred of Bebbanburg to a close. Over five seasons and a standalone feature, we saw how Uhtred went from being a boy cast out of his own home to a kingmaker who was instrumental in uniting the various petty kingdoms of England under one banner.
We’ve seen Uhtred rub shoulders with quite a few rulers in his day. He was one of King Alfred the Great’s closest military advisors, a mentor as well as enemy to King Edward, and a surrogate father to young??ethelstan.?Seven Kings Must Die?revolves around??ethelstan taking over his father Edward’s throne and leading his army to victory at the Battle of Brunanburh, which is considered by historians to be the pivotal battle which led to England’s unification.
The Last Kingdom?has always explored the personal motives for rulers like Alfred and Edward and why each wants to?bring the petty kingdoms together.?Seven Kings Must Die?does the same for??thelstan, but with a surprising twist. If you’ve just seen the movie, you may be wondering what the real-life??thelstan was like. Beware SPOILERS below.
The Last Kingdom season 5
How history informed ?thelstan on?The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die
The big twist for??thelstan’s motive is that we discover fairly early on in the movie that he’s gay and having an affair with Ingilmundr, a Dane who is pretending to be an ally in order to manipulate??thelstan. In the time since?The Last Kingdom?season 5,??thelstan has become far more religious; despite desiring Ingilmundr, he is weighed down by what he perceives as his “sin.” Ingilmundr convinces??thelstan that one way to outweigh the sin in heaven’s eyes is by doing an even greater service to God: in this case, demanding the obeisance of all the other petty kingdoms and finally bringing England under one rule.
Ingilmundr’s nefarious motives aside, this raises the obvious question of whether??thelstan was gay in real life. The answer is that historians don’t know; those sorts of personal details about the king remain largely unearthed.
However, the oath that Uhtred demanded of??thelstan at the end of the movie — that he would not marry or have an heir — is indeed based on real history.??thelstan was a highly religious king who never produced an heir or took a wife. There’s dispute as to why, though; was he living a life of chastity to gain support, or because of his own strict religious beliefs?
The Last Kingdom?has always been great at exploring the motivations for historical figures, and the decision to make??thelstan gay is a perfect example. It doesn’t contradict anything we know about his public persona from history, while giving him an extra layer of complexity behind closed doors.
The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die?is streaming now on Netflix.
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