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Edward the Confessor

Victoria Tower Garden Westminster

When King Canute died in 1035 his two sons, Harthacnut and Harold "Harefoot" both claimed the throne. When Harthacnut left to fight in the battles between the Scandinavian and Danish parts of Canute's realm, it looked as though Harold would succeed. Meanwhile the Anglo Saxon dynasty of Wessex had not been entirely destroyed. Emma, Alfred and Edward, the children of the former Anglo Saxon king Athelred, deposed by the Scandinavians, had survived.They were living in Normandy where they had been sent for their own protection. Alfred pressed his claim, but was handed over to the Danes by the powerful noble Godwin, and killed. Harold Harefoot ruled for four years, before dying and being replaced by Harthacnut, who himself died unexpectedly. Earl Godwin then offered the throne to Edward, perhaps thinking that a weak Anglo Saxon king would be easier to control than a strong Scandinavian king. Edward, later known as the Confessor in recognition of his pious ways, was crowned in Winchester on Easter Day 1043.

Edward spent his reign trying to maintain a balance between Norman and Scandinavian factions. He also had the difficult job of keeping the hugely powerful earl Godwin in check. In 1051 matters had come to a head when Godwin was summoned to appear before the king's council in London. The meeting led to the banishment of Godwin and his followers. Godwin , along with his son Harold, returned the following year with a powerful fleet of ships. They sailed up the Thames and surrounded the royal fleet at London Bridge. By now Godwin had won the support of the leaders of London, and Edward was forced to capitulate. For the rest of his reign Edward's rule was subordinate first to Godwin, and then following the earl's death in 1053 to his son Harold, who was to be Edward's successor in 1066.

Westminster Abbey

Inspite of these limits on his power, the last part of Edward's reign saw him laying important symbolic foundations of state at Westminster Abbey, and Westminster Hall. Westminster Abbey was consecrated on the 28th of December 1065, but Edward was too ill to attend. He died just over a week later on the 6th of January 1066. This led on to one of the most famous and crucial events in British history, the Norman Conquest led by William the Conqueror.

The Norman Conquest was to be a turning point for Britain. And yet even at a time of such fundamental historical shift, history seems to be telling us that things go on the same even as they change. Edward the Confessor is known as the last of the Anglo Saxon kings, if you discount the short reign of his successor, Harold, who had a Anglo Saxon father and a Scandinavian mother. But Edward, the last Anglo Saxon king was more Norman than anything else. His mother was a Norman, he considered Normandy his home, spoke Norman French, and looked to Duke Robert of Normandy as his protector and guardian. It is almost remarkable that the identity of nations, centered on their monarchs, should grow out of such shared experience.