King Edward "the Confessor" of England

1005 - 1066  (61 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Edward "the Confessor" of England
  Prefix	King
  Nickname	the Confessor
  Birth	1005
  Gender	Male
  Death	5 Jan 1066
  Siblings	4 Siblings
  1. King Edward "the Confessor" of England,   b. 1005   d. 5 Jan 1066  (Age 61 years) ▻ Edith of Wessex,  m. 1045 + 2. Princess Goda of England,   b. Abt 1004, Wessex, England d. 1049, England  (Age 45 years) ▻ Eustace II de Boulogne,  m. 1036 ;   Comte Dreux de Mantes et de Vexin + 3. Godgifu of Wessex   d. Abt 1049 ▻ Comte Dreux de Mantes et de Vexin + 4. Edred (Ingelric) of England   d. Yes, date unknown ▻ + 5. Princess Adgina of England,   b. Abt 1016   d. Yes, date unknown ▻ Aldred of Bernica
  Person ID	I6488	Geneagraphie
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2000

  
  

  Father	King Æthelred II of England, "the Unready",   b. 968   d. 23 Apr 1016, London, Middlesex, England (Age 48 years)
  Mother	Emma de Normandie,   b. 986   d. 6 Mar 1052, Winchester (Age 66 years)
  Marriage	1002
  Family ID	F2914	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Edith of Wessex   d. 1075
  Marriage	1045
  Family ID	F2915	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2000

  
  

• Photos

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• Notes

  Wordt na het overlijden van Knoet van Denemarken (een halfbroer?) en diens zonen in 1042 tot koning gekozen. Blijft kinderloos. Potentiele opvolgers zijn: 1 Harold Hadrada van Noorwegen, als opvolger van Harthacnut in Denemarken; 2 Willem van Normandie als neef van devrouw van Edward "the unready"; 3 Godwin, graaf van Wessex en na hem zijn zoon Harold op wens van de door Angelsaksische vrijheren gedomineerde witan (raad). Harolds zuster was de vrouw van Edward "the Confessor" Koning van Engeland 1042-1066 The penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, Edward was the oldest son of Æthelred II and Emma. He had gone to Normandy in 1013, when his father and mother had fled from England. He stayed there during the reign of Canute and, at his death in 1035, led an abortive attempt to capture the crown for himself. He was recalled, for some reason, to the court of Hardicanute, his half-brother. Canute had placed the local control of the shires into the hands of several powerful earls: Leofric of Mercia (Lady Godiva's husband), Siward of Northumbria and Godwin of Wessex, the most formidable of all. Through the influence of Godwin, Edward took the throne at the untimely death of Hardicanute in 1042. In 1045, he married Godwin's only daughter, Edith. Resulting from the connections made during Edward's years in Normandy, he surrounded himself with his Norman favorites and was unduly influenced by them. This Norman "affinity" produced great displeasure among the Saxon nobles. The anti-Norman faction was led by (who else?) Godwin of Wessex and his son, Harold Godwinsson, who took every available opportunity to undermine the kings favorites. Edward sought to revenge himself on Godwin by insulting his own wife and Godwin's daughter, Edith, and confining her to the monstery of Wherwell. Disputes also arose over the issue of royal patronage and Edward's inclination to reward his Norman friends. A Norman, Robert Champart, who had been Bishop of London, was made Archbishop of Canterbury by Edward in 1051, a promotion that displeased Godwin immensely. The Godwins were banished from the kingdom after staging an unsuccessful rebellion against the king but returned, landing an invasionary force in the south of England in 1052. They received great popular support, and in the face of this, the king was forced to restore the Godwins to favor in 1053. Edward's greatest achievement was the construction of a new cathedral, where virtually all English monarchs from William the Conqueror onward would be crowned. It was determined that the minster should not be built in London, and so a place was found to the west of the city (hence "Westminster"). The new church was consecrated at Christmas, 1065, but Edward could not attend due to illness. On his death bed, Edward named Harold as his successor to the throne, instead of the legitimate heir, his grandson, Edgar the Ætheling. The question of succession had been an issue for some years and remained unsettled at Edward's death in January, 1066. It was neatly resolved, however, by William the Conqueror, just nine months later. There is some question as to what kind of person Edward was. After his death, he was the object of a religious cult and was canonized in 1161, but that could be viewed as a strictly political move. Some say, probably correctly, that he was a weak, but violent man, and that his reputation for saintliness was overstated, possibly a sham perpetrated by the monks of Westminster in the twelfth century. Others seem to think that he was deeply religious man and a patient and peaceable ruler.