Arthur Pendragon

Kay (adoptive brother)

Morgaine (half-sister, contested)

Mordred (son, contested)

Guinevere Hoult (spouse)

**King Arthur Pendragon** 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 whether Arthur was a real historical figure or was nothing more than a legend, and, if he existed, whether he was a native of the Doctor's universe or a parallel world connected to the Doctor's England by an interdimensional right.

According to some sources, Camelot and its King were part of established history, being foundational to England's causal nexus; the Master tried to meddle with King Arthur's life as part of an attempt to unbalance Earth history, and was foiled by the Doctor. (PROSE: *The Creation of Camelot*) According to other accounts, Camelot and its king existed in another world, only existing as stories in the Doctor, Ace, Raine and Guinevere's native universe. (TV: *Battlefield*, *The Herald*, *The Green Knight*) In these accounts, Arthur ruled Camelot with Guinevere until he was accidentally killed by his lover at the Battle of Camlann thanks to the Destroyer's deception. (TV: *The Herald*)

## Biography

### Boyhood

According to one account, Arthur was raised by Sir Ector as his adopted father, with Sir Kay as his adopted brother. Arthur sometimes acted as Kay's squire; he grew up in relative obscurity until he was old enough to take his place in his fated destiny. (PROSE: *The Herald*) Guinevere commented on how Arthur frequently told her about his ascension to the throne of Camelot after he pulled a sword from a stone, noting that the legends in the Doctor's universe were largely accurate to Arthur's retelling of the incident. (TV: *The Green Knight*)

According to another account, Arthur became the king of Camelot after the death of his father, Uther, without special fanfare or troubles. The Merlin of Camelot's court around that time was a certain Blaise, but after he died, he was replaced by a mysterious individual who was actually the Master. (PROSE: *The Creation of Camelot*)

At some point, Arthur engaged in a brief romance with Morgaine. (TV: *Battlefield*)

### The Master exposed

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.

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*)

### In Arthur's World

Arthur ruled for many years after pulling the sword from the stone. At some point, he met Guinevere Hoult after her freighter ship crash-landed in his universe. (TV: *The Green Knight*) The two became close, and reigned together for many years, eventually marrying three years before his death. (TV: *The Herald*) Arthur knew of Guinevere's occasional romantic dalliances with Ancelyn, one of his best knights, though he never pursued any repercussions for their actions. (PROSE: *The Herald*)

Arthur had a banquet with his Knights of the Round Table a few days before the Battle of Camlann. During the banquet, the Eighth Doctor and Raine Cunningham materialised in the middle of the Great Hall. Initially suspicious, Arthur called for them to be placed in the dungeons. However, the Doctor, posing as Merlin, managed to win Guinevere's approval by saving Sir Lancelot's life. Arthur eventually came to trust Merlin, taking him and Raine with him and some of his knights on the quest to claim Excalibur. He accepted Raine's proffering it to him, commenting on how capable a swimmer she was. He later offered the Doctor good luck when he went to confront Morgaine on the possibility of summoning the Destroyer. (TV: *The Herald*)

### Death

Upon learning about the Doctor's captivity at Morgaine's hands, Arthur began making plans to engage Morgaine and Mordred in battle. After telling Ancelyn to ready his men, he had Raine guide them to Morgaine's camp. He reluctantly allowed Guinevere to come along, despite her inexperience in battle.

Arthur attacked shortly after the Doctor's imprisoning in the Ice Caves, starting the Battle of Camlann. He fought directly against both Morgaine and members of the S'rax. However, when he got word of Guinevere having been wounded during the battle, he rushed to the sick bay, only to be shot dead by Guinevere with a crossbow. She was horrified when she realised what she had done, having been deceived by the Destroyer into thinking Arthur was dead and his killer had come to attack her. (TV: *The Herald*) Mordred would later take credit for Arthur's death.

Merlin placed Arthur's body and Excalibur in a dimension-crossing spaceship and hid it at the bottom of Lake Vortigern, near Carbury, in rural England. (TV: *Battlefield*)

### Legacy

Guinevere continued ruling for six months after Arthur's death, (TV: *The Green Knight*) at the Doctor's recommendation. (TV: *The Herald*) When entering Puterspace to save the Doctor, Guinevere saw a vision of King Arthur berating her for killing him, though she dispelled it after realising that he would likely not have blamed her. (TV: *Love and War*)

## Behind the Scenes

* William Squire played King Arthur on Broadway, in the stage musical *Camelot*.
* Peter Capaldi was director Nicholas Mallett's first choice for the role, though he turned it down. He later accepted the role of another king, Tarrol, in *Legacy*.