King Arthur may have been queer, according to Welsh council

The mythological figure of King Arthur, who is best known for stories in which he attempted to find the Holy Grail, may have been queer because he was mentioned as wearing “women’s clothing”.

Denbighshire council has included King Arthur in a timeline of LGBTQ+ history, documenting key LGBTQ+ moments throughout history.

The timeline was revealed to be part of the council’s mission to celebrate “local stories of sexual orientation and gender identity”.

The council also wanted to make LGBTQ+ material more “accessible to the public” and has shared the timeline as an educational resource, with LGBTQ+ historian Norena Shopland’s research being used as the basis for the majority of the project.

This was a part of the Welsh Government’s initiative to teach local libraries, museums, and archives about LGBTQ+ language and history to enhance “awareness and understanding” of the diversity within Wales.

The government stated: “Welsh LGBTQ+ history, culture, and heritage in Wales has contributed to our legacy and experiences as a nation and these stories need to be told.”

King Arthur’s sexuality has never been referenced in any myth or legend about him, though many may know that he did marry a woman named Guinevere who later became his Queen.

But apparently one Welsh legend said that King Arthur once wore women’s clothing.

His inclusion in the timeline was accompanied by a description which read: “On a subsequent occasion Arthur dressed himself in woman’s clothes in order to visit a girl at Rhuthun.”

In the legend, Rhuthun in Denbighshire was where Arthur killed a rival who witnessed the ruler wearing women’s clothing to sneak into a dance.

No other stories about Arthur have ever referenced him wearing women’s clothing or suggested that he was queer, though he is regularly referenced as a successful “dux bellorum” or warlord.

The council’s efforts to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion have sparked controversy among some, with a gender critical organisation called Sex Matters telling The Telegraph that “a legend about King Arthur dressing in women’s clothes qualifies for entry on a local government’s LGBTQ history timeline” means that the UK has “reached a new level of desperation”.

She said: “Whether it’s Joan of Arc or King Arthur, it makes no sense to apply today’s baffling ideologies to historical or legendary figures who wore clothes typical of the opposite sex for whatever reason. British councils have no business trying to rewrite or reframe history to validate very recent ideas about sex and gender. To claim that a person in “opposite sex” clothes is part of the LGBTQ is confusing nonsense,” Sex Matters’ director of campaigns Fiona McAnena said.