April 3rd: Edward the Confessor

On this date in 1043 Edward the Confessor was crowned king of England.

1. Edward the Confessor was so called because he allegedly lived a saintly life but didn't die as a martyr. I say allegedly, because we can't be sure Edward wasn't canonised for political reasons and that his saintliness was exaggerated to further this cause.
2. He was the son of Æthelred the Unready and the ambitious Emma of Normandy. He was Æthelred's seventh son, but the first by Emma, his second wife. He had one full brother, Alfred, and a sister, Godgifu. As well as half brother's from his father's first marriage, he had another half brother, Harthacnut, from his mother's second marriage to Cnut the Great of Denmark.
3. Edward spent much of his life in exile in France after Sweyn Forkbeard seized the throne in 1013. It's thought he lived in Normandy being supported by his sister, who had married Drogo of Mantes, count of Vexin in about 1024.
4. All Edward's older half brothers died or were killed. Robert I, Duke of Normandy, believed Edward should be king of England and attempted an invasion in about 1034 to put Edward on the throne, but was thwarted by the weather in the English Channel and was blown off course, ending up in Jersey.
5. In 1036, Edward and his brother Alfred came to England in response to a letter from their mother, inviting them for a visit. She claimed she didn't write it, and that it was a trap, forged by their rival Harold Harefoot. During his visit, Alfred was captured by Harefoot and blinded with hot pokers. He died of these injuries soon after. In the end, Harthacnut, now king, invited Edward back to England in 1041, possibly because he knew he was dying and had to nominate an heir. Edward met "the thegns of all England" at Hursteshever, probably modern Hurst Spit opposite the Isle of Wight. There he was received as king in return for his oath that he would continue the laws of Cnut.
6. Edward's position as king was precarious at first as all his lands were spread out and he had no power base. He was reliant on the support of the Earl of Godwin. He turned this around, however, restoring the traditional monarchy, and was described as "a vigorous and ambitious man, a true son of the impetuous Æthelred and the formidable Emma."
7. Edward married Godwin's daughter Edith in 1045. They had no children, a fact used in evidence of his saintly and celibate life. It's possible, though, that he did want an heir but there were fertility issues.
8. Edith's brother was Harold Godwinson, who'd been made an earl by Edward. Another brother, Tostig, was Earl of Northumbria. There was a violent rebellion against Tostig in 1065 and Tostig accused Harold of taking part in it. This argument took place in front of Edward, and it's thought this might have brought on the series of strokes which killed him.
9. Edward was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who was famously defeated at the Battle of Hastings. Historians believe that at some point, Edward had named William the Conqueror as his successor, but had changed his mind.
10. Edward the Confessor was the first Anglo-Saxon and the only king of England to be canonised. His feast day is 13 October and he is the patron of kings, the English Royal Family and difficult marriages.

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