AKQ5 timeline

The AKQ5 Timeline is a KQ5 timeline based on the "About KQV" within KQ5, and other sources where applicable.

Background

The basic KQ5 timeline based on the manual and About KQ5 appears to be a mix of dates and timings, potentially from the KQ4 timeline, the 25 year version of Companion timeline, and original material. The WoKQ timeline changed the context of a few details such as date of marriage and date of twins birth.

The birthdate for twins is not entirely clear in the KQ5 materials the About KQ5 could imply that twins were born 2 years after Royal Family’s marriage, while WoKQ timeline suggests they children were born 1 year after KQ2. Another difference in materials states that Alexander escaped Llewdor when he was eighteen though this likely rounded up from his actual age (see also WoKQ timeline and Novel timeline).

As the date of the wedding is not specifically given it is not clear how long KQ2 takes place after KQ1, which would then affect any other placement of events. The About KQ5 can roughly fit on top of KQ4 timeline, the WoKQ timeline or other variations, depending how it how the information is interpreted.

The 20 year starting range (KQ6-7 around 22 GC) used in the Original timeline would be more problematic (as it would force KQ2 closer to KQ1). The wedding would end up about 2 years after KQ1 if the birthdate occurs in the same year (at opposite ends of the year to maintain the approximate  '1 year apart') which could loosely be considered 'several' under some definitions, or by placing the wedding 1 year after KQ1 rather than several (ignoring the intent of the KQ5 hintbook).

There is potential for the KQ5 material to be interpreted into other variants such as a 23 year (wedding about 23 years after KQ1), 24 year (wedding about 3-4 years after KQ1) or 26 year (wedding about 5-6 years after KQ1)  timelines, but that would make it incompatible with other common systems used by other sources, and moves more into the realm of speculation.

This timeline (and the variants, based on it) largely ignores the KQ4 manual (which has an incompatible date for the twin's birth, and royal wedding), and largely ignores the King's Quest Companion (which also includes incompatible dates), and any other sources inconsistent with the KQV Hintguide.

Some references such as royal physicians and 20 year reference could be taken from the The King's Quest Companion, but latter under slightly different contexts.

Specifically this contains material from The World of King's Quest: A Brief History of Daventry and Once Upon a Time in a Land Faraway from The Magical World of King's Quest from InterAction, fall 1992.

Another possibility is that details mentioned in the About KQ5 and details mentioned in KQ5 hintbook represent two different interpretations on the KQ5 timeline, one potentially inspired by the Conpanion and the other which Roberta came up with (WoKQ timeline).

Timeline

The  'about KQ5' screen information though doesn't fit well as a literal interpretation. There is eighteen or nineteen years between KQ2 and KQ3 as figured. Additional material in KQ5 hintbook would imply Alexander to be late eighteen going on nineteen (but this would be flawed to most other sources and thus must be considered an approximation, and rather turning 18). The total of dates in KQ5 hintbook from KQ2 add about to about twenty years approximately (which is in line with the suggest in the About KQ5). There is no way to incorporate the About Screen, KQ5 Hintbook and later KQ6 published material and make them all consistent. Something has to be ignored.

Note for the timing to work the twins have to be born same year as KQ2 (at 5 GC) although this would ignore the KQ5 hintbook (unless the one year after date was a rough approximation) or at 4 GC (one year before).

The wedding date given in this differs from the alternate dates suggested in the KQ2 manual & Companion variants ( Original timeline & Anniversary timeline) (1 year after KQ1), the KQ4 Manual (KQ4 timeline) (3 years after KQ1), and The Stories So Far (1 or 2 years after KQ1).

Since it uses the 25 year anniversary range (placing the twins birth at 5 years after KQ1) it can roughly fit on top of the Anniversary timeline or the KQ4 timeline as long as the marriage date from those timelines are ignored.

There may be an inconsistency between the timing of KQ5 in the spring and dates given in later games.

Timeline

Timeline based on About KQ5, KQ5 Manual, KQ4 timeline, and references to the The King's Quest Companion in the manual, loosely. Note: Grahams age is taken from KQ6 sources, no earlier sources gave him specific age.

19 BGC

Graham is born in Daventry (KQ7 Hintbook)

1 GC

Graham (recently turned 19) searches for the three treasures in the spring (KQ1)

3 GC

King Graham and Valanice are married.

5 GC

Twins are born.

22-23 GC

KQ3

KQ4

23-24 GC

KQ5

24-25 GC

KQ6

KQ7

26-27 GC

KQ8

27-28 GC

KQ9

KQ10

See also

• WoKQ timeline (KQ5 timeline based on (The World of King's Quest: A Brief History of Daventry and The Magical World of King's Quest)

Notes

• Graham has been king for several years now and the realm is doing well.
• Twenty years have passed and King Graham and Queen Valanice have twin, teenaged children, Alexander and Rosella. Unfortunately, Alexander, as a baby, was stolen unnoticed from his crib one night.

Behind the scenes

Information within KQ5 places KQ3, some "...twenty years passed..." after KQ2 until the start of KQ3 (it apparently ignores KQ4 manual, the intent of the KQ2 manual, as well as the King's Quest Companion). However the about screen does seem to incorporate some ideas from the companion (the Royal physicians and the reference to 20 years maybe a reference to quote that says the series takes place between 20 or 25 years after KQ1 (this quote is likely the source of both original timeline and anniversary timeline variants).

The material in KQ5 hintbook if added together adds up to roughly twenty years after KQ1 (? + 19 years + six months).

This material suggests Alexander was 18 when he escaped (see also Novel timeline) or even possibly almost 19 (based on the about screen quote and KQ5 hintbook). However the "eighteen" reference is probably rounded from his actual age ('nearly eighteen').

• The inn bandits robbery occured the day before Graham visited the inn, in KQC this would have been the same day he reached Serenia (as he spends a couple of days in the kingdom proper), and doesn't enter the inn until his second day there.
• The cobblers sold their last shoe the day before Graham visited the shop.
• The toyshop had many sales the day before Graham visited the shop.
• Mr. Richards would come to the toyshop the following day after Graham's visit to the shop.
• When Graham enters the toyshop it is around 'lunchtime' as stated by the toymaker's son.
• Roberta Williams' summary actually places KQ3, some 18 years after the children's birth (and/or kidnapping), ignoring countless sources that state that KQ3 takes place not quite eighteen, but when Alexander is still seventeen. Though it could be technically just rounding his age up, and not be taken literally. It still might take place within the 18th year following his birth (and/or kidnapping), he turns eighteen at the end of the year. However, if it is 18 following his kidnapping it could place him as much as late eighteen (almost nineteen) and less likely to work.
• The KQ5 hintbook is unspecific builds off of an unknown wedding date, with additional dates added onto it (? + 1 + almost six months + 18; this would add to about 19 + six months or about twenty more or less after the wedding)
• The reference to Graham and Valanice marriage happening "several years" after KQ5 would make it be at least more than two or three years, but not many[1]. Which could place it any point early in the timeline, after 2-4 years. This in fact could mean that KQV could take place anywhere among a range of years in latter half of the timeline. Which in turn could This could push KQ6 into a different date bracket than 25 GC (which would then make further inconsistent with the KQ6 Hintbook).
• A loose reading of the manual for KQ5 could suggest that KQ4 takes place years after KQ3, however other sources within KQ5, and related material by Roberta confirms that KQ4 begins where KQ3 ends. The intent of KQ5 manual is instead to point out Graham's "later years", not "later years" after KQ3.

The KQ5 timeline source material is primarily from KQ5 (and the in-game About KQ5), the KQ5 Manual, and the KQ5 Hintbook (World of King's Quest: A Brief History of Daventry) Additionally The Magical World of King's Quest is expanded and paraphrased from the version in KQ5 hintbook.

About KQ5 discusses only a few references to time. The first is a near quote of Roberta Williams' information in KQ5 Hintbook, in The World of King's Quest: A Brief History of Daventry, in which KQ2 is said to be "several years" after KQ1 (suggesting that it is more than 2 or 3 years after KQ1).

Roberta also places the births of the twins 1 year after KQ2 in that source, and Alexander's kidnapping six months later, but it doesn't easily map onto the About KQ5 or the KQ6 timeline.

The second main reference is that KQ3 is twenty years after KQ2. In other words suggesting that the children were born two years after KQ2 (if they were almost 18 in KQ3).

With the reading of the KQ5 Hintbook alone, the exact date of KQ1 is unclear, as is the exact date of marriage (takes place "several years after KQ1"). This would mean that the KQ2 wedding had to have taken place at least 2 or 3 years after KQ1, but not 'many' (likely less than 5)[2]. Several can mean;

2a : more than one <several pleas>  

b : more than two but fewer than many <moved several inches>  

Such that a loose interpretation KQ5 material could roughly fit onto the Original timeline (with KQ2 taking place two years after KQ1 and the birth 1 year after KQ2) even though only one year passed between KQ1 and 2 in that timeline. However considering that KQ4 timeline and later KQ6 timeline moved things further away from KQ1 (suggesting that the wedding and birth in KQ5 material probably takes place 5 years after KQ1). The companion keeps things vague enough to suggest that the series takes place over a 20 or 25 year range (likely taking the reference from both the KQ1-3 manuals which placed things closer to twenty, and the KQ4 manual which shifted things by two extra years closer to twenty-five). Though some of the later sources apparently then referenced the Companion, taking the 25 year date. While others seemingly took the route closer to the original trilogy.  This is a brief timeline that tries to look at the hintbook in context; BW = Before Wedding, and AW = After Wedding. Wedding = KQ2. Note that technically the born 1 year later date for the twins could be a approximation (if the wedding occured near the beginning of the year, and the twins were born 9 months or later within the same year it could be rounded up to a 'year'.)

Timeline details from the KQ5 manual

? GC

KQ3 KQ4

(? + 1 year) GC

KQ5

Timeline details from About KQ5

1 GC

KQ1

? GC

KQ2

(? + 20) GC (or at least almost 20)

KQ3

KQ4

Timeline details from KQ5 Hintbook

1 GC

KQ1 (spring)

? GC ('several years later')

KQ2

(? + 1) GC

The twins are born.

(? + 1 GC + six months) GC ('about six months later')

Alexander is kidnapped.

(? + 1 + six months + 18) GC(19 years plus six months; roughly twenty years)

KQ3

KQ4

Combined

1 GC

KQ1 (spring)

? GC ('several years later')

KQ2

(? + 1) GC

The twins are born.

(? + 1 GC + six months) GC ('about six months later')

Alexander is kidnapped.

(? + 20 (1 + six months + 18)) GC

KQ3

KQ4

(+1 year) GC

KQ5

Timeline with regards to the 'wedding'

4-2 BW

After various adventures and altercations, Graham successfully retrieved the three treasures and brought them back in triumph to his king. Soon thereafter, though, King Edward died and Sir Graham was indeed crowned King of Daventry.

1 AW

Graham and Valanice returning to Daventry, Valanice became King Graham's wife, and Queen of Daventry in a beautiful wedding ceremony.

2 AW (or late 1 AW)

The twins are born.

3 AW (or 2 AW)

6 months after birth: Alexander is kidnapped

Not long after the mirror goes dark, and the dragon begins ravaging Daventry.

20 AW (or 21 AW)

Alexander escapes from Manannan in Llewdor (a similar date also appears in TFC)

Shortly after Rosella travels to Tamir to save her father.

21 AW (or 22 AW)

KQ5

22 AW or 23 AW (KQ6 could occur at the end of 20 AW or 21 AW)

KQ6

KQ7

Novel timeline

See Novel timeline.

Using the twins birth date for KQ1 and KQ3 from the 'Novel timeline' because the World of King's Quest and The Floating Castle share the same age for Alexander during KQ3 (eighteen). In this timeline, KQ2 would take place late 1 GC or so. KQ2 Manual date for Graham's journey is more or less maintained. In this timing Alexander may be kidnapped either during late 2 GC, or early 3 GC. KQ5 manual (1 year date), KQ6 (six month date), and KQ7 introduction dates are utilized.