The Entire Timeline Of The Kingsman Films Explained

The saga all begins with Orlando (Ralph Fiennes), Duke of Oxford, and his family. As he visits his friend and associate General Kitchener (Charles Dance) in South Africa at a concentration camp during the Second Boer War, he endeavors to provide aid to the ailing, hungry, and impoverished as part of the Red Cross. Meanwhile, Orlando's young son, Conrad, is waiting in the carriage with the family servant Shola (Djimon Hounsou). Conrad's mother Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara) counsels her son on the responsibility of using their resources to help others. Because their family is wealthy, she feels they have a duty to uphold to lead by example. It's a message that will stick with Conrad for the rest of his life.

After Conrad's mother leaves the carriage to go check on her husband, a Boer sniper opens fire and shoots Orlando in the leg, wounding him. In the scuffle, and before Shola is able to kill the hostile shooter, Emily takes a fatal bullet wound to the stomach. In her dying breath, she asks Orland to protect their son from the world and "never let him see war again." She forces Orlando to make this promise, and it's one commitment that drives his attitudes toward the treatment of his son.

The Great War has its aggressors. According to Kingsman history, however, tensions mounted between Russia, Germany, and Britain thanks to the machinations of the shadowy group under the mysterious Shepherd's command. A group of zealots known as "the Flock" include notable historical figures such as Grigori Rasputin, the Archduke's assassin Gavrilo Princip, and Erik Jan Hanussen, among others who are loyal to the Shepherd. They are all given orders by the Shepherd to sow discord in Europe in an effort to expand the heights of the Great War.

The Shepherd, who is later revealed to be Maximillian Morton posing as Lord Kitchener's right-hand man, is disgusted by the monarchies and the elite class. He wishes to see the downfall of Europe's dynasties. But most importantly, he wants to wreak bloody vengeance on Britain for its rule over Scotland, his homeland. Each of the Shepherd's agents are pivotal figures in the quest to achieve the dramatic heights that World War I would inevitably reach. As such, Orlando and his network of spies must find and destroy the Flock.

The Shepherd continues to use his assets to manipulate the war. He commands Erik Jan Hanussen to coax Germany into to sending the infamous Zimmermann Telegram, a secret communication from the German government that would propose an alliance with Mexico and asks for Mexico to invade the United States. It's the distraction the Shepherd would need to keep America from fully entering the war at Britain's side, which would swiftly end the war. The telegram was intercepted by British intelligence, which was then recovered by Orlando's spy ring. Polly is then tasked with cracking the code. Orlando hopes the US will see the telegram and join the war efforts with Britain, but President Woodrow Wilson refuses, claiming there's not enough evidence to substantiate the telegram's legitimacy.

Meanwhile, Conrad is of age to enlist in the British Army. He does so and goes through proper training before being deployed. Orlando uses his prestige and influences King George V to have Conrad stationed in London. Conrad circumvents his father's strategy for keeping him out of harm's way by switching places with Archie Reed, a member of the Scottish Battalion Black Watch. Conrad, as Archie Reid, and volunteers for a mission into No Man's Land to retrieve sensitive data from a British spy caught in the middle of the battlefield. He eventually retrieves the data successfully but is immediately suspected by a soldier who knows Archie Reed personally. Assuming Conrad is a spy, the soldier executes him at point blank range. Orlando is devastated and retreats into his own grief. The recovered data, however, validates the Zimmerman Telegram.

Lee Unwin had recently become a full-fledged member of the Kingsman. He is now operating in the field alongside Harry Hart (Colin Firth). In 1997, the Kingsman agents engage in a clandestine mission in the Middle East, where they meet resistance. Harry, going by his codename Galahad, subdues a hostile, but fails to spot the explosive he is brandishing. In an effort to spare the lives of all of the Kingsman agents present, agent Lee Unwin jumps on the explosive, sacrificing himself for the cause.

Harry later visits Lee's wife Michelle (Samantha Womack) and his young son Gary, who goes by the nickname Eggsy (Alex Nikolov). He delivers the sad news of Lee's death, but offers a medal with a number to call should they ever need a favor. When speaking to the operator, the passcode "Oxfords, not brogues" should be said. While Michelle bitterly rejects the gesture, Harry gives the medal to Eggsy, asking him to keep it safe.

While Eggsy is going through the selection process, Harry investigates the sudden reappearance of Professor Arnold. After making contact with the professor, the man's head explodes. Harry makes a quick escape, though he's injured and slips into a coma.

Agent Merlin (Mark Strong) continues to lead the training of the would-be Kingsman putting them through rigorous sequences that test their physical and mental acuity. They're even provided with puppies and expected to bond with, care for, and train by the time their own training is complete. After narrowly averting drowning in their own quarters, pancaking onto the Kingsman's front lawn from a high-altitude jump, and potentially sacrificing their lives to not divulge Kingsman secrets, Eggsy and Roxy are the last two candidates standing. When tied to a train track and threatened with his life as part of the test, Charlie divulged everything, ending his ambitions in the Kingsman organization.

Harry awakens from his coma and once again sets his sights on Richmond Valentine. Valentine is planning to hand out free SIM cards to the world that are capable of making free calls and accessing free internet. Professor Arnold had one of these SIM cards implanted in his neck.

Meanwhile, Eggsy is ordered by Agent Arthur (Michael Caine) to take his now grown dog, J.B., and shooting him. Of course, Eggsy has bonded with the dog and can't fathom shooting his canine compadre. So, he backs down and is kicked out of the running to become a Kingsman agent. Harry is deeply disappointed in Eggsy and explains to him that the gun was loaded with a blank and was only a test of will. Roxy completed the task and was granted the title of Lancelot.

Eggsy is completely distraught over Harry's death. Despite the short time that he knew Harry, he was the only man who ever took an interest in Eggsy — making him the most father-like figure he has ever known. Despite his grief, Eggsy heads back to Kingsman HQ. He finds Arthur there, and the Kingsman leader offers Eggsy a drink in honor of Harry. Eggsy notices he has a scar for a SIM implant and switches the drinks when Arthur isn't looking. After they drink, Arthur reveals that he is in league with Valentine and that the villain has chosen many who will survive Valentine's apocalypse before activating the poison in the drink. Due to the drink switch, he inadvertently kills himself.

Eggsy, Merlin, and Roxy plan to stop Valentine. Using high-altitude balloons, Roxy is able to fire a missile at one of Valentine's satellites, disrupting his plans temporarily. Charlie, the failed Kingsman candidate, confronts Eggsy inside Valentine's hideout, but Eggsy is able to take him out of commission. After both Merlin and Eggsy find themselves cornered, Eggsy suggests that Merlin hack the implanted chips and trigger their destruction in Valentine's followers. In a wild display, nearly everyone in the compound and those among the world leadership with SIM chips die as their own heads explode. Valentine then activates the signal, causing worldwide chaos as people everywhere begin attacking each other. Eggsy is able to kill Gazelle, Valentine's partner, before killing Valentine himself and halting the villainous plot. Eggsy then rescues the captured Scandinavian Princess Tilde. Later, Eggsy is recognized as the new Galahad, replacing Harry in the title.

As the only remaining Kingsman agents left, Merlin tells Eggsy that they must activate the Doomsday Protocol. Merlin isn't even sure what the Doomsday Protocol entails. However, they locate the Doomsday safe and open it, up only to find a bottle of Statesman whiskey. Unsure what to do with the bottle, they both share a drink over their lost comrades. Eggsy then notices at the bottom of the bottle that Statesman whiskey is made in Kentucky. The two stake out the distillery in Kentucky, only to be cornered and subdued by a Statesman agent named Tequila (Channing Tatum).

The pair learns that the Statesman are the American equivalent of the Kingsman. They use the whiskey business as a front for their spy operations, much like the Kingsman do with the tailor shop. Tequila only realizes he can trust the two once Ginger Ale (Halle Berry) reveals that their Doomsday locker had a Kingsman umbrella in it. The Statesman leader Champ (Jeff Bridges) explains that the founder of Statesman used a Kingsman tailor, which obviously linked the two agencies in an alliance should they ever need to call upon one another. Tequila also revealed that they have Harry Hart, who was recovered shortly after he was shot in the previous film. Both Eggsy and Merlin are shocked and elated to see Harry. But their happiness is quickly sullied but the fact that Harry doesn't remember who he is. He only believes himself to be a lepidopterist, one who studies butterflies.

Harry heads back into the field and joins Eggsy and Whiskey on a mission. They track Clara at a facility in the mountains where the antidote is being made. The trio retrieve a sample and narrowly avoid a deathtrap from Charlie Hesketh before retreating to a remote cabin. There, they are assaulted by more men. Whiskey knocks the antidote vial out of Eggsy's hands as he pushes him to safety from gunfire. Instantly, Harry suspects Whiskey as a double-agent because of the act. Eggsy believes Harry isn't thinking clearly yet, but Harry shoots Whiskey. Eggsy frantically performs life-saving procedures on Whiskey and they manage an escape.

Tilde calls Eggsy and shows that she is one of millions who have turned to drugs and now has the blue rash. With a new sense of urgency, Eggsy pushes Harry and Merlin to join him in infiltrating Poppy's compound in Cambodia. There, Merlin sacrifices himself to eliminate some of Poppy's security detail and spare Eggsy from the fate of an active landmine. Eggsy and Harry then battle Poppy's henchmen, including her robot dogs and Charlie. Eggsy kills Charlie while Harry handles the machines. They then inject Poppy with her own drugs, blackmailing her into giving them the code for the antidote distribution. Before they can unleash the antidote, Whiskey arrives, fully healed. He reveals that he sides with the President's ultimate plan to let Poppy kill all drug users, thereby "winning" the war on drugs. Whiskey's wife was killed by drug users, giving him the motivation he needs to become a turncoat. Eggsy and Harry ultimately get the better of Whiskey and run him through Poppy's meat grinder. They then unleash the antidote, saving millions.