Throughout The Last Kingdom series, it was always the late King Alfred’s dream of forming a united England. Sadly, he didn’t live to see this dream fulfilled as he passed away from an illness.
He asked Uhtred to look after his son, King Edward so that the dream will be fulfilled. However, King Edward does not fulfill this dream, and Seven Kings Must Die takes place after his death.
So, did England finally unite in Seven Kings Must Die?
The answer is yes, England was unified in Seven Kings Must Die. Aethelstan became King of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria, uniting England under one crown.
Warning: More spoilers ahead for The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die. Read at your own risk!
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The Last Kingdom Ending: King Edward Fails to Unite England
At the end of The Last Kingdom Season 5, King Edward failed to unite England because Uhtred didn’t cede Northumbria to him.
After the end of the battle, King Constantine tried to negotiate for longer peace with Uhtred. He said that he would acknowledge Uhtred as Lord of Bebbanburg and his authority over the lands around it but in exchange for King Edward not ruling over Bebbanburg.
So King Constantine withdrew his claims to the lands because Uhtred offered not to cede the lands to King Edward. Instead, the lands “will remain between the two, sworn to neither, to ensure peace.”
While King Edward felt betrayed by this, Uhtred explained that the man who would unify the country should be a figure behind which the people can stand together as one. But to Uhtred, King Edward has shown that he was not that man as he has sown discord between Saxon and Dane.
Thus, England was not united in the last season of The Last Kingdom.
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Seven Kings Must Die Ending: Aethelstan Becomes King of England
In Seven Kings Must Die, while Uhtred initially saw Aethelstan as the rightful king to rule England, he started having doubts after he saw that Aethelstan became a tyrant and that he was no longer the carefree boy he raised.
However, after Uhtred survived (kind of) the Battle of Brunanburh, he swore Northumbria to Aethelstan. However, this came on the condition that the latter does not marry and produce any heirs so that his half-brother Edmund’s claim to the throne would remain unchallenged.
Since Aethelstan agreed to this, Uhtred kneeled and swore Northumbria to him. This united England and King Aethelstan became the King of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria.
At the end of the film, it was revealed that King Aethelstan ruled for 15 years and was considered to be the first and greatest King of medieval England.
Furthermore, the Danes continued to invade England, until its eventual conquest by their Norman descendants in 1066. But the fortress at Bebbanburg still stands and becomes Bamburgh Castle in the present day.
So England did unite in Seven Kings Must Die. England was united under King Aethelstan’s reign, and King Alfred’s dream was fulfilled.
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The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die is now available to stream on Netflix.