Summary

• The Kingsman franchise can expand in multiple eras due to its origins and story
• The Kings Man story reveals important historical events involving the beginning of the Kingsman as a group.
• The impact of key characters like Orlando and Conrad shape the formation of the Kingsman organization.

Kingsman stretches potentially across a century of adventures and stories, due to the in-universe origins of the group. Based on the Millarworld comic series The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, the cinematic version of the group was introduced in Matthew Vaughn's 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service. Although that film was fairly self-contained, it opened up a world of colorful violence, deadly espionage, and the forces pulling at the society of the 20th and 21st centuries that have been explored across multiple films.

The earliest establishing events for the organization occurred a full century before the events of the first film. Given the premise of the story, the group could theoretically appear in any other given era of human history. This makes the prospect of another Kingsman film all the more exciting, especially with Kingsman: Blue Blood on the way. This is the timeline of the most important events in the Kingsman film franchise in chronological order, going back to before the organization was even formed.

The Death Of Emily Oxford - 1902

The First Kingsmen Scene Chronologically

Orlando Oxford is established in The King's Man as the founder of the Kingsman, but his story begins over a decade before the spy organization was ever established. Rather, Orlando's commitment to helping the world was present even from the first scene of The King's Man. Working alongside the Red Cross during the events of the Second Boer War, Orlando and his wife Emily strived to set a good example for their son Conrad by helping others. In the chaos of an attack though, Orlando is shot in the leg and Emily is fatally wounded.

Emily's death quietly sets the events of the Kingsman cinematic universe in motion. Her demise had a major impact on both Orlando and Conrad. Emily's dying request to Orlando — that he strive to keep Conrad away from war — would eventually spur Orlando to further focus on dealing with emergencies with as little overt violence as possible. Orlando's efforts to keep his son out of conflicts contrasted with Conrad striving to follow his mother's noble example, driving a wedge between the two in later years.

Orlando Oxford Combats The Shepherds Conspiracy - 1914

The Big Goods & Big Bads Of The Kingsman Universe

Despite his decision to rely primarily on peaceful manners, Orlando increasingly found himself involved in global affairs during the events of The King's Man. Alongside his family's butler Shola (Djimon Hounsou) and maid Polly (Gemma Arterton), Orlando used his wealth to establish a series of connections across the globe. This group would eventually remain by his side and become the original Kingsman alongside Orlando, setting up generations of spies. Their express intention was originally to intervene and prevent conflict from escalating.

However, the machinations of a man initially only known as Shepherd push the world closer and closer to war. Although the Shepherd in this film is portrayed as a singular villain with a deliberate grievance to air, the concept is implied to be more ever-lasting in the film's mid-credits scene. In the same way that many people can serve the world as a Kingsman, there can be a Shephard that can seek to sew chaos throughout the world. This leads to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and World War I beginning in earnest.

Rasputin's Coup - 1916

Rasputin Probably Didn't Dance Fight To Death In Real Life

Part of the appeal of exploring The King's Man's period-piece setting is getting to see how the Kingsman brushed up against historical events and people. If they'd been quietly preventing major events off-screen for decades by the events of the first film, there must be countless fun ways to tie the series into history. The King Man embraces this for all its worth, having the heroes come up against historical figures like U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and supposed spy Mata Hari.

The most notorious real-life figure that Orlando and his allies encounter is Grigori Rasputin. Played by Rhys Ifans in the film, Rasputin was an influential figure within the imperial family of Nicholas Romanov II. The historical figure is reimagined as a member of the Shephard's conspiracy, working to keep Russia out of the conflict. This is given in-universe as a reason Germany was able to more fully focus on Britain in the conflict. Orlando and his allies' defeat of Rasputin would eventually lead to the Romanov's assassination, reminding audiences of the price of their actions.

The Zimmerman Telegram - 1917

The Death Of Conrad Oxford

As the global conflict grew worse, Conrad Oxford is formally commissioned into the Grenadier Guards — one of real-life Britain's oldest infantry regiments — as part of the war effort. Impersonating another soldier to ensure he gets the chance to help people on the battlefield, Conrad ended up recovering important information regarding the Zimmerman Telegram. A real-life document from Germany that pitched Mexico on a military alliance that would have resulted in the invasion of the United States, the Zimmerman Telegram was crucial to the United States getting actively involved in World War I.

However, Conrad's duplicity rouses the suspicions of a fellow soldier, who shoots Conrad dead before he can verify his identity. The King's Man was an interesting exploration of the Kingsman universe. Beyond setting up Conrad as a motivating factor for his father going forward, his death highlights the faceless soldiers who've been killed all throughout the film. The efforts of a few well-placed bad actors resulted in conflicts that left millions dead across the world. Conrad is a painful reminder that everyone who perished was someone's son.

The Birth Of The Kingsmen - 1917-1919

In Conrad's Memory, A Good Deed Thing Is Created

After a period of mourning, Orlando becomes entangled once more in the conflict closer to the end of World War I. After helping capture Mata Hari, Orlando parachutes into the Shepherd's compound and recovers the final evidence needed to push the United States into World War I. This sets up The King's Man's final big fight, which in turn results in the death of Orlando's opposite, revealed to be Matthew Goode's Max Morton. The film ends with Orlando, Shola, Polly, King George V, Conrad's fellow soldier Archie, and U.S. Ambassador Walter Page establishing the Kingsman as a permanent organization.

Each take a code name referring to the legends of King Arthur, a naming device that will continue elsewhere into the franchise's version of the present day. As an origin point for the series' primary heroes, it's a compelling exploration of how the Kingsmen fit into the margins of history. The film also teases that their conflict with the Shepherd continued into future generations, as Adolf Hitler is revealed in the mid-credits scene to be the assassin who murdered the Romanovs. This implies World War II was similarly impacted by the Kingsman and their enemies as the first Great War.

Lee Unwin Dies In The Line Of Duty - 1997

Decades Of Unseen Kingsman Adventures

The Kingsman organization is implied to impact events for the following decades of the 20th century, with their efforts impacting the development of society across the world. Harry's walls of newspaper headlines in Kingsman: The Secret Service are used to represent each successful mission — and the dozens of pages all correspond to a single agent. This implies that over the following century, the Kingsman worked tirelessly to keep society moving. During this era, a group of people in the U.S. followed suit and established the Statesman.

Over those years, agents came and went, some rising in the ranks while others perished in the field. Colin Firth's Harry Hart achieved the codename Galahad, while Chester King achieved a leadership position and eventually assumed the mantle of Arthur. One of the unlucky ones was Lee Unwin. Played by Jonno Davies, Lee was a candidate for the Lancelot title as a Kingsman when a fateful mission in the Middle East during his training resulted in his death. Sacrificing himself to save Harry, Merlin, and fellow candidate James Spencer, Lee's death changed his family's life.

Richmond Valentine's Plot - 2012-2013

Valentine's Schemes Infect The Kingsman

Played by Samuel L. Jackson, Richmond Valentine is the primary antagonist of Kingsman: The Secret Service. The billionaire inventor is established in the film as seeing much of society as a lost cause. Hoping to give the world a make-over, Valentine embarks on a plan to create a sonic signal that, when transmitted through electronic devices, causes people to lash out in uncontrollable violent rage. A riff on the kind of villains who'd appear in classic James Bond films, Valentine schemes to use his free SIM cards to expand the impact of the signal to a global scale.

Only those with a certain implanted microchip can resist the effects of the signal. After testing these procedures through a mercenary group (2012 in Chechnya, then again in Uganda in 2013), Valentine's conspiracy recruits powerful world leaders to help ensure the plan goes off without a hitch. Among those recruited include Arthur, the present-day leader of the Kingsman. Michael Caine's Arthur character proves to be a uniquely dangerous figure in the latter half of Kingsman: The Secret Service as a result. The Kingsman are barely able to catch up to Valentine in time to counter his efforts.

Eggsy Is Recruited To The Kingsmen - 2014

How The Series Began

2014 ended up being a fateful year for the Kingsman. Notably, this was the year that Harry Hart received a call from Eggsy, Lee's son. Now a troublemaking young man, Eggsy — played by Taron Egerton — called in a favor to avoid jail time. Harry took a shine to Eggsy and recruited him into the Kingsman training program. This served as the plot for much of Kingsman: The Secret Service, with Eggsy adapting to his training to become a skilled and respectable candidate for a role as a Kingsman.

Following the death of James Spencer after looking into the mercenary groups tied to Valentine, the organization's recruitment drive serves as a perfect introduction to the world of the Kingsman. During a period that seems to last at least a few months, Eggsy finds himself trained in the arts of spycraft. Although many high society recruits look down on him, Eggsy befriends fellow recruit Roxy (played by Sophie Cookson) and adjusts well — at least until a test of his willingness to follow orders leads him to be dismissed.

Richmond Valentine's Plot - 2015

How The World Almost Ended In 2015

The remainder of Kingsman: The Secret Service takes place sometime in 2015. While Eggsy is removed from the action for a time, Harry's investigation into Valentine ends up exposing his plans and seemingly getting him killed. In desperation, Eggsy confronts Arthur and learns the true extent of Valentine's plans. After disposing of Arthur, Eggsy works alongside Roxy and Mark Strong's Merlin to track down Valentine. Valentine initially gets the signal out into the world, but Merlin jams it and instead self-destructs the microchips, killing countless leaders around the globe involved in the plan. Valentine is killed, and the day is saved.

The Kingsman' impact on the world is likely felt immediately after those events, with the world likely forced to respond to the massive crisis and power vacuum left by Valentine's plot. However, the Kingsman readjusted for the times. Meanwhile, the film introduces a new tricky element in the form of a romance, as Kingsman: The Secret Service ends with Eggsy beginning a romance with Princess Tilde of Sweden. This concept would come into play in the subsequent film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

The Fall Of The Kingsmen - 2016

The Organization Is Severely Reduced