Did King Arthur really exist?

The basic story is this. There was a sword stuck in a stone. The legend said that whoever could remove the sword would become King of England and save the country. Many brave knights tried to pull the sword out, but they all failed. One day, a young boy called Arthur was walking past the stone. He didn't know it, but he was in fact the son of an old king. He pulled the sword out of the stone and became the new King of England.

The stories of Arthur as King are tales of bravery and nobility. His closest advisor was Merlin, a powerful wizard. Arthur lived in a castle called Camelot with his beautiful wife, Guinevere. In the castle he had a round table, where he sat with his knights. It was round so that there was no one at the head of the table (which is where the most important person would usually sit) and Arthur and his knights were all equal.

Arthur, with his famous magical sword Excalibur, and his closest knights Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, fought against the forces of evil in England. These were led by Arthur's half-sister, Morgan, who was a witch. After many battles, there was only one left to fight. Arthur and his knights finally won the battle against Morgan's army, and England was safe! However, Arthur had been hurt, and was dying. He threw his sword into a lake, where the magical Lady of the Lake could look after it, and then he died. He was buried in Avalon, in the south-west of England. According to the legend, Arthur will rise again to save England if it is ever in danger in the future.

But did Arthur really exist? Some say he was a Roman, others say a Briton fighting the invading Saxons, but there is no proof of his existence. But perhaps this doesn't matter. The story of a great, noble and brave king, who died to save his country, is one that people of all generations find fascinating, even today.