Game of Thrones fans have long been speculating about the words Ned Stark uttered in his final moments.

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The actor who played Stark, Sean Bean, has finally revealed the truth, dispelling various theories that he was whispering “valar morghulis” (all men must die) or that he was thinking about the secret identity of Jon Snow’s real parents, and saying “I kept my promise” as he slipped away.

It transpires that Stark was simply “saying a prayer”.

“I couldn’t be too specific,” Bean told HuffPost, “because I don’t know if religion [like that] was around in those days, whatever they were.

“I just thought, ‘What would you do if this were really going to happen?’ You probably would pray. You probably would murmur some words and you’d keep it quiet. You’d keep it to yourself.”

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He added: “It’s quite subtle in that many people wouldn’t pick it up.

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“It was an interesting thing to do for me at that point. There’s not much you can do really, you’ve got your head on a block. That’s about the only thing you can do is murmur.”

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