The Kingdom

The Kingdom is a location which first appeared in Season 7 of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is a community of survivors ruled by "King" Ezekiel. It was one of the four joint communities of the Militia and later on the Coalition, along with the Alexandria Safe-Zone, the Hilltop Colony, and Oceanside.

In "The Storm," the Kingdom has to be abandoned after deteriorating conditions and a hard winter lead to the boiler failing and several fires which damaged the buildings beyond repair.

Pre-Apocalypse
Nothing is known about the Kingdom before the apocalypse, except that it was some form of school, with part of it (the garden) being built for common recreation and study, according to Ezekiel.[1]

Post-Apocalypse
At some point Ezekiel and a few other people took over the school.

Its survivors are often seen wearing armor and riding horses. They have an affinity for melee weapons such as spears, but guards also use firearms. They also have gardens and other agricultural areas and have grown enough to maintain the community. They have at least some electricity. Festive events such as movie nights take place. They have many fields, houses and a theater.

Deal with the Saviors
Unbeknownst to most of the community's residents, the Saviors exact tribute from the Kingdom. However, unlike the situation with the Alexandria Safe-Zone, the Saviors seem to allow them to keep firearms. The leader of the small group of Saviors that collects from the Kingdom, Gavin, is a firm but fair leader and treats Ezekiel well, unusual for a Savior.

At some point after the establishment of this deal, approximately 20 months into the apocalypse, Morgan Jones and Carol Peletier of the Alexandria Safe-Zone are found by a few guards and taken to the Kingdom, where they first meet King Ezekiel. Upon meeting them, Carol acts weak and innocent, a common tactic for the hardened survivor when dealing with new people. After the two settle into the Kingdom, Morgan joins Ezekiel, Richard, and others on an outing to feed pigs with zombies, later offering them to the Saviors for that week's tribute.

When they return, Morgan agrees to teach Benjamin, a youth of the community, Aikido, a martial art in which Morgan specializes.

During an attempt to leave the Kingdom, Carol is caught by Ezekiel and Jerry, Ezekiel's steward and bodyguard. Carol and Ezekiel then have a discussion about him seeing through Carol's facade and how he met Shiva. He suggests that Carol "leave and not leave". He allows her to stay in a cottage just outside the Kingdom.

Rick Grimes' Arrival
A short time after these events, Paul "Jesus" Rovia of Hilltop Colony tells Rick Grimes, the leader of the Alexandria Safe-Zone who has with his group fallen under the Saviors' rule, about the Kingdom's existence and they along with other members of Alexandria head to the Kingdom. They meet Ezekiel in the theater and Rick proposes his plan to fight back against the Saviors. While Ezekiel ultimately refuses to join them, he grants Daryl Dixon asylum in the Kingdom where the Saviors won't be able to find and harm him, as Daryl has recently escaped from imprisonment by the Saviors.

March to War
The Kingdom maintains a placid relationship with the Saviors but things soon escalate.

Richard keeps trying to push the Kingdom towards war. He tries to convince Daryl Dixon to help him but he is rejected as his plan includes killing Carol. Richard instead sabotages a drop, by hiding a melon destined for the Saviors, in the hope of getting himself killed. This fails and Benjamin is killed instead. Richard tries to create a new plan but is killed by an enraged Morgan. After these events Ezekiel decides to go to war and a newly determined Carol agrees to join the cause in a bid to avenge of her friends.

Forming the Militia
Ezekiel leads a regiment from the Kingdom toward Alexandria. Shiva joins him as well. They reach the blockade of shopping carts previously placed by Richard; it has been rearranged. Morgan appears, still emotionally unstable, and vows to hunt down the Saviors by himself, but Ezekiel convinces him to fight at their side. He joins them as they march towards Alexandria.

When the Saviors come after Alexandria, the Scavengers join with them in a defense at first before its revealed that they made a deal with the Saviors that leads to them betraying Rick. With the Scavengers betrayal, Negan and the Saviors easily overpower the Alexandrians until Sasha Williams emerges from a coffin as a walker. A brief gun battle ensues, but the Saviors win and Jadis wounds Rick.

As Negan prepares to strike Carl with Lucille, Shiva leaps onto and mauls a nearby Scavenger. Ezekiel, Carol and the Kindommers arrive at the head of the Kingdom regiment in an attack, as Maggie arrives with the Hilltop fighters, killing several Saviors and Scavengers. Jadis eventually orders a retreat and Negan does the same. Rick, Maggie and Ezekiel stand on a podium and address the crowd as the leaders of their respective communities: Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom, united.

The Saviors' Retaliation
After Gavin and a large group of Saviors make it out of the Sanctuary, they barge into the Kingdom, demanding the whereabouts of Ezekiel. After searching for him, the Saviors are unable to find him. They round up all of the Kingdom residents, keeping them hostage until Ezekiel is found. Gavin demands to know Ezekiel's whereabouts, but is given no response. Gavin had finally had enough, but before he could do anything drastic, Ezekiel managed to set fire to the community, destroying a partial amount of the Kingdom as a whole, causing the Saviors to panic. The remaining residents managed to flee to a school bus to drive them to safety, while Ezekiel stayed behind and is captured by the Saviors as a sacrifice for his people.

With Ezekiel held prisoner to be transported to the Sanctuary, Carol and Morgan launch a rescue mission into the Kingdom, killing multiple Saviors along the way. Eventually, the survivors retreat into the auditorium where they are ambushed and killed by Carol, Morgan and Ezekiel after he breaks free. Gavin, the last surviving Savior, attempts to hide but is found by Morgan. As Carol and Ezekiel attempt to talk Morgan down from killing Gavin, Gavin is killed from behind by Henry, killing the very last of the Savior invasion force and reclaiming the Kingdom for once. Ironically, as most of its inhabitants were already killed in the war, there are not enough inhabitants to keep the Kingdom operating, the survivors thus abandoned it and joined up with the Hilltop.

A New Beginning
After the war with the Saviors ended, Ezekiel, Carol, Jerry, Dianne, Henry and the remaining Kingdom residents return to the Kingdom.

Six years after Rick's apparent death, the Kingdom buildings and machinery has begun falling apart with Henry attempting to keep it together. While the Kingdom prepares a fair to try to bring the communities back together, Carol feels that they might need to evacuate if things continue to deteriorate.

The Fall of the Kingdom
Sometime after the fair, the Kingdom finally falls apart. The rot spreads, the failing boiler finally breaks and cannot be repaired and fires spread. Several buildings are left missing their whole roof and others their roofs partially while even the fence is scorched. With the Kingdom damaged beyond repair and a hard winter setting in, the decision is made to abandon it for the Hilltop. With the help of people from the Hilltop and Alexandria, the Kingdommers make a dangerous trek through a blinding blizzard and all succeed in reaching their new home at the Hilltop safely.

Government and Society
The Kingdom has an unusual monarchical government. It is headed by its first self declared 'King', King Ezekiel personally. Under him are his knights who work as soldiers, scouts and scavengers. Notably among them is Jerry who also works as his personal bodyguard and steward. Richard also seemed to stand as one of the high ranking members of the guard and may have been Ezekiel's second in command with military matters. Ezekiel is a benevolent, yet flamboyant and charismatic ruler who is well loved by his "subjects". He used his experiences of playing kings in theatre to portray himself in such a manner, talking in a grand Shakespearian manner and often referring to himself in the third person. After Carol Peletiermarries Ezekiel and they adopt Henry, Jerry at least considers Carol their queen and Henry their prince, if only in a joking way.

Citizens of the Kingdom live in an almost angelic environment. There is a school system, a choir and a market place. Society seems to be like former world governments compared to other communities with the exception of its governing body. As long as everyone contributes, then people are free to use the facilities as they wish.

Survivors

 * Niall Ross- (Supply Runner)
 * Jerry- (Steward/Bodyguard)
 * Abigail- (Gardener)
 * Morgan Jones - (Soldier)
 * Dana - (Community doctor)
 * Kevin
 * Kurt - (Community medic)
 * Shiva - (Ezekiel's Pet Tiger)
 * Alvaro - (Soldier)
 * Daniel - (Soldier)
 * Colton - (Soldier)
 * Richard - (Soldier)
 * Benjamin - (Soldier)
 * Numerous unnamed residents

Formerly

 * Ezekiel - (Former Co-leader of the community)
 * Carol Peletier - (Former Co-leader of the community)
 * Jason Ross- (Former Supply Runner)
 * Haley Edwards- (Former Supply Runner)
 * Ariel Baker- (Former Recruiter)
 * Dwight
 * Dianne - (Former Soldier)
 * William - (Former Soldier)
 * Nabila - (Former Gardener)
 * Vicky
 * Beverly
 * Jerry and Nabila's Son
 * Jerry and Nabila's Daughter
 * Jerry and Nabila's Infant Daughter
 * Jenny
 * Alvaro's Father
 * Henry

Deaths

 * Duke
 * Paulie
 * Gomez
 * Gavin
 * 14 unnamed Saviors
 * Numerous residents

Appearances
{|

Season 7

 * "The Well"
 * "Hearts Still Beating"
 * "Rock in the Road"
 * "New Best Friends"
 * "Bury Me Here"
 * "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life"

Season 8

 * "Some Guy"
 * "The King, the Widow, and Rick"
 * "How It's Gotta Be"
 * "Honor"
 * "Wrath"

Season 9

 * "Who Are You Now?"
 * "Bounty"
 * "Chokepoint"
 * "Scars"
 * "The Calm Before"
 * "The Storm"
 * }
 * }

Trivia

 * The Kingdom is described as being much larger than Alexandria with a bigger population. As of Season 7, there are about 40 people living in Alexandria, indicating that more than 50 people live in the Kingdom.[2]
 * The Kingdom appears to be located near the city of Rosslyn, VA. It is not yet confirmed if the Kingdom is actually in Washington, DC, as it is in the comics, or if it is Virginia.
 * The choir credited in "The Well" is actually a choir from Georgia State University's School of Music.[3][4]
 * From "Mercy" to an unknown episode, the Kingdomers started wearing orange armbands, representing their position in the Militia. The other communities: Alexandria are represented by white armbands and the Hilltop are represented by green armbands.
 * In the comics, the Kingdom is still active, but in the show, it is lost and abandoned.
 * Of all the communities, the Kingdom is the only one to have kept the same leader (Ezekiel) throughout its entire run on the TV series.