King's Man Almost Got Rasputin's Death Right (But Needlessly Changed It)

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Though it makes sense that The King's Man alters a lot of real history to suit its fantastical action-adventure plot, it should have stuck closer to the facts in its depiction of Rasputin's death. As part of the evil (and fictional) secret organization at the center of the film's conflict, it is understandable that the protagonists would fight him. Nevertheless, the film would have benefited from changing fewer of the actual facts behind the assassination.

In The King's Man, Rasputin is killed by the Duke of Oxford, the Duke's son Conrad, and their compatriots Polly and Shola. The manner of Rasputin's death in the movie does bear a few similarities to real life: for example, Rasputin's assassins did feed him cake laced with cyanide. When this didn't work, they shot him, but he still survived. Eventually, he was discovered in the Neva river. However, in reality, these assassins, rather than being Englishmen, were Russian aristocrats led by Prince Felix Yusupov. Strangely enough, Yusupov is also in the film: he is the Duke's cousin and invites him and Conrad to Russia after expressing concern over Rasputin. However, once they arrive, he never appears again, and takes no part in planning or carrying out the assassination.

Related: The King's Man True Story: What Really Happened To The Romanovs

There have been theories that the British Secret Intelligence Service were involved in Rasputin's assassination for the same reason shown in The King's Man: that they were concerned Rasputin's influence would cause Russia to no longer be helpful to the British during World War I. Some aspects of this theory even suggest that an agent named Rayner, who went to Oxford with Yusupov, was the one to personally shoot Rasputin. There is no