Who is Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom, why is he so important in Seven Kings Must Die and was he a real person?
Anesthetist in The Last Kingdom became more prominent in the last season of the show but he really came into his own in Seven Kings Must Die.
Whilst many fans were likely left devastated when it was announced that The Last Kingdom season 5 would be the show’s last, the feature-length Seven Kings Must Die movie was a brilliant silver lining to this sad news. The film picks up at a time of a succession crisis and Anglo-Saxon prince, Aethelstan, is right at the center of this. He’s been a character since season 4 but became increasingly important as time went on. Now just like those who might’ve wondered about Lady Eadgifu in The Last Kingdom, some fans might be intrigued about whether Aethelstan really existed.
Here we reveal who Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom is, why he was so important in the Seven Kings Must Die movie and whether he was a real person…
*Warning: Spoilers ahead!*
Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom
(Image credit: Netflix)
Introduced as a recurring character in season 4, Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom really came into his own as a character in season 5 and Seven Kings Must Die as an Anglo-Saxon Prince and eventually the King of the English. Played by Caspar Griffiths at first in the Netflix show, Harry Gilby later took up the mantle of playing Aethelstan. He is the grandson of Alfred the Great and the son of Edward the Elder and perhaps unsurprisingly also appeared in Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Chronicles series the show and movie are based on.
Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom is the son of Edward and his first wife Ecgwynn, the half-brother of Aelfweard and Edmund, whose mothers were Edward’s second and third wives respectively. Throughout his time on the show Aethelstan is eager for his father’s attention and approval and at the end of season 4 The Last Kingdom’s main protagonist Uhtred of Bebbanburg was tasked with looking after him by Edward.
The Saxon-raised-by-Danes taught Aethelstan how to fight and be a true warrior and by The Last Kingdom movie he’s become a main player in the deadly game of succession. Seven Kings Must Die opens with the plot-point of Edward the Elder being dead and sets up Aethelstan and Aelfweard in particular as fighting for the throne.
Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom
(Image credit: Netflix)
This is a battle that ultimately Aethelstan goes on to win as he becomes King of the Anglo-Saxons and continues his quest to become King of a united England. Along the way many are lost but amid all the bloodshed fans do see Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom become King of the English by the end, making him one of the most important characters in the movie.
He achieves Alfred the Great’s dream of uniting the kingdoms after Uhtred concedes Northumbria to him in return for Aethelstan making his younger half-brother Edmund his heir. And with all the historical details and him succeeding to the throne many might now be wondering whether Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom was a real 10th century monarch.
Was Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom a real person?
Whilst there isn’t one specific The Last Kingdom true story, plenty of the Anglo-Saxon royals in particular were historical figures and King Aethelstan is no exception. Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom is based upon the real-life King Æthelstan, who ruled firstly as King of the Anglo-Saxons and then, finally, as King of the English. In The Last Kingdom and Seven Kings Must Die, fans learnt that a united England under one ruler was Alfred the Great’s dream. Æthelstan is often considered to be the first English King and he was Alfred the Great’s grandson.
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