Tell the Queen to pack her bags, for 7-year-old Matilda has found King Arthur’s legendary Excalibur and is now the rightful heir to the throne.
Just like all legends, the one about the noble King Arthur and his magical Excalibur must have been inspired by something, but sometimes, they might have actually been based on factual, or semi-factual, events.
Paul Jones from Doncaster, United Kingdom, was telling his daughter Matilda the story of King Arthur and Excalibur just as they were driving by Dozmary Pool in Cornwall – supposed by some to be the lake Excalibur was thrown into.
Like a child’s dream, Matilda pulled a 1.2-meter sword that resembles the legendary king’s blade.
We meet the #Doncaster family who found a sword that looks a lot like King Arthur's Excalibur in Dozmary Pool in #Cornwall! pic.twitter.com/lHbF20IZmY
— BBC Georgey Tonight (@GeorgeyTonight) September 4, 2017
“She was only waist deep when she said she could see a sword,” her father told The Star.
“I told her not to be silly and it was probably a bit of fencing, but when I looked down I realised it was a sword. It was just there lying flat on the bottom of the lake.”
The stories of both King Arthur and Excalibur have been used in books, movies and folktales for centuries. Most recently, the 2017 Guy Ritchie movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword starring Charlie Hunnam.
According to the legend, King Arthur led the Britons to war against the Saxons between the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
The story goes, after he died, Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into Dozmary Pool as requested by King Arthur. Before reaching the lake bed, an arm appeared and grabbed the sword.