a regal empress. Among them no British ruler is shrouded in as much mystery as King Arthur. We all

know the tales of Excalibur, Camelot and the Holy Grail. But did the fabled ruler REALLY

exist?

Richard Earl of Cornwall was the younger brother of King Henry III and one of the wealthiest

men in Europe. Around 1233 he eagerly exchanged three of his manors for a small seemingly

undesirable piece of land on the north Cornish coast. It was the island of Tintagel, a harsh

rocky headland entirely unsuitable for building on. So why was the earl of Cornwall so keen

to own it?

A century earlier in the 1130s a cleric named Geoffrey of Monmouth has written a book chronicling

2000 years of the nation's rulers. He called it the Historia Regum Britanniae or History

of the Kings of Britain. One of the tome's most remarkable tales was about a king by

the name of Uther Pendragon who fell madly in love with Igraine, the most beautiful woman

in Britain. To keep her from Uther's advances, her husband Gorlois Duke of Cornwall sent

Igraine away to Tintagel. Even two or three guards could hold this island against an entire

army. But Uther Pendragon would not be stopped so easily.

He sought the help of the prophet Merlin who gave the king a magical potion so that he

appeared to be Gorlois himself. In this disguise Uther travelled to Tintagel, fooled the guards

and won over his love. And so, says Geoffrey, King Arthur was conceived on Tintagel Island.

According to legend, Arthur was crowned king at just fifteen and went on to lead the defence

of Britain against Saxon invaders in the mid- to late- 400s, securing his place in the ranks

of heroic kings. We now know that Geoffrey's stories are mostly made up but nevertheless

they thrilled and inspired people across Medieval England, one of whom was Richard Earl of Cornwall.

Having bought the legendary landscape he set about doing what kings and earls do best.

He built a castle. Unfortunately the terrain made construction difficult. The resulting

structure was small and had no military value. The garderobes (or toilets) had to be rebuilt

several times as they kept falling into the sea. Still, Richard wanted the castle, maybe

to cement his place in the myth as a worthy successor to King Arthur or simply because

he admired him as a symbol and chivalry.

He died in 1272 and by around 1300 the castle was already crumbling in the face of the fierce

Cornish weather. But the remains can still be explored today. Many other historic places

in England are also associated with the legend of King Arthur. Carlisle Castle is thought

to be a possible locations of the Court of Camelot while Arthur's Stone in Herefordshire

supposedly marks the place where the king slew a giant. King Arthur's Round Table in

Cumbria is said to have been his jousting arena and some even thought that Stonehenge

was built by Merlin for Arthur's Uncle Aurelius as a war memorial. Many people are still drawn

to these places and especially to Tintagel.

So did King Arthur really exist? Hard evidence is lacking but one thing's for sure: thanks

to the influence of one wealthy fan, Arthur's tale remains deeply ingrained in the fabric

of Britain's past, resting somewhere between fact and fiction in the realm... of legend.