The Last Kingdom

Read expert articles on the real history which inspired Bernard Cornwell's novels and the hit series…

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King Æthelstan shown in a manuscript dated to before 1399 (Photo by incamerastock/Alamy Stock Photo)

Æthelstan: why is writing a biography of one of England’s greatest kings so difficult? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Stained glass in Exeter Cathedral depicting King Æthelstan. (Dreamstime)

The astonishing Æthelstan . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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A memorial tomb to King Æthelstan, in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. (Photo by Geography Photos/UIG via Getty Images)

If King Alfred was great, was Æthelstan even greater? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ewan Horrocks as Aelfweard and Adrian Schiller as Aethelhelm in The Last Kingdom season 5

Ælfweard and Æthelstan: were they rivals for the throne of Wessex?

Picture of Throrolf slaying Earl Hring

The battle of Brunanburh: the forgotten fight that changed British history

Bamburgh Castle is an imposing coastal fortress in North-East England

General History

Bamburgh Castle: The Real Bebbanburg of The Last Kingdom

A bloodied Uhtred of Bebbanburg in Seven Kings Must Die

Seven Kings Must Die ending explained: what next for England?

Uhtred of Bebbanburg in Seven Kings Must Die

Seven Kings Must Die: the real history behind the Last Kingdom movie

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred of Bebbanburg in Seven Kings Must Die

Seven Kings Must Die What to expect from the Last Kingdom movie

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred of Bebbanburg in The Last Kingdom season 5

The real Uhtred of Bebbanburg The historical inspirations for The Last Kingdom’s hero

The Last Kingdom season 5 starsAlexander Dreymon as Uhtred of Bebbanburg

The Last Kingdom: real history and historical accuracy

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Alfred the Great “managed to ensure history’s enduring affection by making sure that he wrote it himself,” argues Max Adams. (Photo by Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)

Alfred the Great: “He was an excellent king, but that’s not the whole story” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Bernard Cornwell talks about the final novel in his Last Kingdom series and his next project – a new Sharpe adventure. (Image by Getty Images)

Bernard Cornwell on The Last Kingdom’s finale and the next Sharpe . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Image of a medieval skull showing arrow injury

Blog Medieval(ish) matters #2: arrows in the eye, The Last Kingdom, Viking dogs

Old Norse: Page from the manuscript Codex Regius, which was written in Iceland and contains the poems of elder Edda. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Blog Medieval matters #1: The Last Kingdom, Robin Hood and how to learn Old Norse in lockdown