The Kings of England from 967 - 1066The following line of the Kings of England explain any kinship ties of the main contenders to the throne of England following the death of King Edward the Confessor in 1066. 978-1016 - King Ethelred II ( Ethelred the Unready 967 - 1016) - King Ethelred II ( Ethelred the Unready ) married Aelgifu of Northampton
- Their son was Edmund Ironside (989 - 1016)
- In 1002 Aelgifu dies and King Ethelred then marries Emma, the daughter of Richard I, the Duke of Normandy
- Their son was Edward the Confessor (1004 - 1066)
1016 - Edmund Ironside becomes King of England in 1016 - he agrees a treaty and divides the Kingdom between himself and with the Viking King Canute of Denmark - Edmund Ironside hold Wessex, the South of England
- Canute holds Mercia and Northumbria, the North of England
- One month later Edmund Ironside is assassinated
1016-1035 - Canute becomes King of all England - In 1019 King Canute marries Edmund's widow, Emma of Normandy
- King Canute and Emma have a son, Hardicanute
- In 1028 King Canute also become King of Norway
- King Canute dies in 1035
- His son, Hardicanute, becomes the King of Denmark
1035-1036 Alfred (son of Aethelred II) 1036-1040 - Harold Harefoot - The illegitimate son of King Canute, known as Harold Harefoot, claims the English crown on the death of his father - King Harold I (Harold Harefoot) dies on March 17, 1040
1040-1042 - Hardicanute succeeds to the English throne in 1040 - Hardicanute dies of alcohol poisoning in 1042
1042-1066 - Edward the Confessor becomes King of England in 1042 - Edward was the son of Ethelred II and Emma, daughter of Duke Richard of Normandy, being thus half-brother to King Edmund Ironside and also half-brother to King Hardicanute
- Edward the Confessor marries Edith, the only daughter of Godwin of Wessex
Kinship ties of the the main contenders for the throne of England in 1066 William the Bastard of Normandy - The illegitimate Great-nephew of Emma who married two Kings of England (Ethelred the Unready and King Canute) so King Edward the Confessor and Duke William were second cousins, once removed Edgar the Aetheling - Grandson of the English King, Edmund Ironside and therefore the rightful heir to King Edward the Confessor Harald Hardrada - no relationship to any previous Kings of England Harold Godwinson - no relationship to any previous Kings of England. He was the brother of Edith, the wife of Edward the Confessor and the most powerful noble in England To find out more about their claims to the English throne please click one of the following links: The Duke William the Bastard of Normandy claim
The Hardrada the Viking claim
The Harold Godwinson of Wessex claim
The Edgar the Aetheling claim
Wessex and the Anglo Saxons 871-899 Alfred the Great
899-924 Edward the Elder (son of Alfred)
924-939 Aethelstan (first son of Edward the Elder)
939-946 Edmund I (second son of Edward the Elder)
946-955 Eadred (third son of Edward the Elder)
955-959 Edwig (first son of Edmund I)
959-975 Edgar (second son of Edmund I)
975-978 Edward the Martyr (first son of Edgar)
978-1016 Aethelred the Unready (second son of Edgar)
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