"He succeeded to the throne after the murder of his half-brother, Edward II, the Martyr, at the age of ten. His reign was plagued by poor advice from his personal favorites and suspicions of his complicity in Edward's murder. His was a rather long and ineffective reign, which was notable for little other than the payment of the Danegeld, an attempt to buy off the Viking invaders with money. The relentless invasions by the Danish Vikings, coupled with their ever-escalating demands for more money, forced him to abandon his throne in 1013. He fled to Normandy for safety, but was later recalled to his old throne at the death of Svein Forkbeard in 1014. He died in London in 1016." EMMA of Normandy and Aethelred II had the following children:
243 i.
Edward the Confessor was born about 1003 in Islip, Oxfordshire, England.
He died on 5 Jan 1065/66 in Palace of Westminster, London, England. From Encyclopedia
Britannica Online, article titled "Edward:"
"canonized 1161; original feast day January 5, now October 13"
"byname SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR king of England from 1042 to1066. Although he was a listless, ineffectual monarch overshadowed by powerful nobles, his reputation for piety evidently preserved much of the dignity of the crown. His close ties to Normandy prepared the way for the conquest of England by Normans under William, Duke of Normandy (later King William I the Conqueror), in 1066.
"Edward was the son of King Ethelred II the Unready (reigned 978-1016) and Emma, daughter of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. When the Danes invaded England in 1013, the family escaped to Normandy; the following year Edward returned to England with the ambassadors who negotiated the pact that returned his father to power. After Ethelred's death in 1016 the Danes again took control of England. Edward lived in exile in Normandy until 1041, when he returned to the London court of his half brother (Emma was their mother), King Hardecanute. Edward succeeded to the throne in 1042 and quickly seized the property of his mother, who had plotted against his accession. Nevertheless, for the first 11 years of his reign the real master of England was Godwine, Earl of Wessex. Edward married Godwine's daughter Edith in 1045, but by 1049 a breach had occurred between the two men. In 1051 Edward outlawed the Godwine family and dismissed Edith. During this period Edward was rapidly losing popularity by giving foreigners--particularly Normans--high positions in his government. Hence in 1053 Godwine and his sons were able to gather large forces against the king. They forced Edward to restore their lands, and they exiled many of his foreign favourites. Upon Godwine's death in 1053, his son Harold became the dominant power in the kingdom. It was Harold rather than Edward who subjugated Wales in 1063 and negotiated with the rebellious Northumbrians in 1065. Consequently, Edward on his deathbed named Harold as his successor even though he allegedly had already promised the crown to William. William killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings, Sussex, in October 1066, and two months later he ascended the
throne. "
+244 ii.
Godgifu.
245 iii.
Alfred Athling was born before 1012. He died on 25 Feb 1036/37 in Ely,
Cambridgeshire, England. slain by Earl Godwin.
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