King Arthur King Arthur was a king of Camelot , one whose exploits were the stuff of legend into the 20th and 21st centuries . It was debated among various sources weather Arthur was a real historical figure or was nothing more than a legend . According to one source , the Fifth Doctor and once crossed paths in the presence of the king , ( PROSE : " The Creation of Camelot " ) and the Twelfth Doctor once recalled another encounter . ( PROSE : " Silhouette " ) Despite this , both the Seventh Doctor and Ace seemingly agreed concretely that the stories of Arthur , at least in their universe , were nothing more than legend - - although the Doctor believed that in another world , the stories of their Arthur were much closer to the truth . ( TV : " Battlefield " ) Biography . Coronation . According to one source , the Doctor once pulled the sword from the stone and handed it to Arthur , instead of leaving Arthur to do it himself . The Doctor was therefore made King of England but he abdicated after a day in Arthur ' s favour . The Twelfth Doctor refused to take Clara Oswald to meet Arthur as he considered this incident a bad time . ( PROSE : " Silhouette " ) According to another source , Arthur became the king of Camelot after the death of his father , Uther . It was during this time his Merlin Blaise died and arrived to become the next Merlin . A year after the Master arrived , Arthur ' s son Mordred was born to his half - sister Morgan at Lothian . Arthur sent the Master to kill Mordred . He was unaware that the Master had instead helped Morgan in raising him . The Master planned for Mordred to kill Arthur at the battle of Camlan so Britain could never become one country . The Master pretended to be an enemy of Morgan to fool Arthur . ( PROSE : " The Creation of Camelot " ) Arrival of the Doctor . When the Fifth Doctor and Tegan arrived , they were put into a cell by the guards . Eventually , Arthur came to meet them and set them free . When the Doctor told Arthur about his TARDIS , Arthur told the Doctor that Merlin had mentioned such a thing . The Doctor realised that Merlin could only be the Master in disguise . Arthur sent for the Merlin . The Doctor and Tegan soon recognised him . The Master tried to convince Arthur that he was no threat and he still served him . Arthur , convinced by what the Doctor told him , had the Master sent back to his room and put on trial . However , he was unaware that the Master ' s room was actually his TARDIS . After the Master escaped , the Doctor suggested Arthur ( in order to build the Arthurian legend ) create the Knights of the Round Table . ( PROSE : " The Creation of Camelot " ) Other references . Arthur had a counterpart in a parallel universe . ( TV : " Battlefield " ) Another version of Arthur existed in the distant future . ( COMIC : " The Neutron Knights " ) The people of Avalon believed that Merlin had brought Arthur to their world centuries ago . ( PROSE : " The Sorcerer ' s Apprentice " ) On New Jupiter , the Medieval Zone of EarthWorld was influenced by legends of King Arthur . ( PROSE : " EarthWorld " ) The First Doctor thought the dishes being carried to the sons of Grekk would have been fit for King Arthur . ( PROSE : " The Sons of Grekk " ) Behind the scenes . As in the real world , King Arthur ' s categorical existence in the " Doctor Who " universe is debatable . Some sources , such as " Battlefield " , claim Arthur is mythical . Others , like " The Creation of Camelot " , regard him as a real historical king whom the Doctors have met . Stephen Fry ' s unproduced script , " The 1920s " , was based on the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain . The Fisher King in " Before the Flood " is named after the eponymous in Arthurian legend , who , like the " Doctor Who " character , is in need of aid to be restored .