... was born around 1003. In 1013 his father, Æthelred (the Unready) was deposed by Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark. But Sweyn died only five weeks later, allowing Æthelred to return; and following his death less than two years later the country was ruled jointly by Edward's older brother, Edmund II (Ironside) and Sweyn's son Cnut. This arrangement lasted only seven months, until November 1016, when Edmund died – leaving Cnut to rule alone.
Edward married Edith of Wessex, whose father, Godwin, had been made Earl of Wessex by Cnut. But in 1042, when he succeeded his half–brother Harthacnut to the thone, he was childless. Edward fell out with the Wessexes in 1051, and around this time, still childless, he is said to have promised the throne to William of Normandy (see below). How serious he was about this is disputed; the power of the Wessexes continued to increase through Edward's later reign, and on his deathbed he named Edith's brother Harold (Godwinson) as his successor.
William of Normandy was Edward' first cousin, once removed: his grandfather, Richard II of Normandy, was the brother of Edward's mother, Emma of Normandy. (Their father was Richard I of Normandy.) After the death of Edward's father, Æthelred (the Unready), Emma married Cnut, and they had another son, Harthacnut. Cnut had also been married before; his immediate successor as king, Harold (Harefoot) was the son of his first marriage, to Ælfigu of Northampton.
© Haydn Thompson 2023