Saint Edward, King of England

963 - 978  (15 years)

• Name	Edward
  Nickname	the Martyr
  Birth	962/63  [2, 3, 4, 6, 7]
  General Information	According to Panton (2011) "Edward’s brief, three-year reign as king of the English was marked by growing opposition to the monasteries and ended in violence. Scholars agree that he was the son of King Edgar of England, but they are less certain about his legitimacy and about his mother, who was probably Aethelflaed Eneda, whom Edgar later married. He was chosen as the new ruler when his father died in 975, but the accession was contested by Aelfthryth (or Elfrida), Edgar’s second wife, who advanced the cause of Aethelred, her own seven-year-old child, later known as Aethelred the Unready. Although the decision in favor of the older boy was made by the witan (the king’s group of advisors), Aelfthryth refused to accept defeat and allied herself with men who opposed her late husband’s policy of granting land to religious bodies, primarily because they wanted it for themselves. Edward sided with the church and appeared to be popular with his people, but he was only 13 when he succeeded to the throne, and there is little doubt that the inexperience of youth was reflected in some of his judgments."  [3]
  Crowned	8 Jul 975 (12 years)	Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England   [3, 6, 7]
  Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar the Peaceful but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leadership of England was contested, with some supporting Edward's claim to be king and others supporting his younger half-brother Æthelred the Unready, recognized as a legitimate son of Edgar. Edward was chosen as king and was crowned by his main clerical supporters, the archbishops Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York on 8 Jul 975 at Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.
  Age: 13
  History	976 (13 years)  [5]
  Widespread famine struck England in 976, and it led to a breakdown in the rule of law; disgruntled, fearful, and opportunistic Anglo-Saxons took to violence, even sacking monasteries, which had grown more rich and powerful with Dunstan’s advocacy.
  Reign	From 975 to 978  [4]
  King of England
  Death	18 Mar 978	Corfe Castle, Corfe Castle, Dorsetshire, England   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  During a hunting expedition, the king called at Corfe Castle, where Ælfthryth and Æthelred were living. His stepmother offered him mead, and while he was drinking, she or one of her retinue stabbed him. He rode off, mortally wounded, but slumped from his horse; his foot caught in a stirrup and he was dragged into a bog, where, according to legend, the location of his body was revealed to searchers by a pillar of light This was the result of a plot hatched by his step-mother Ælfthryth so her son Æthelred II the Unrede could become king. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle "No worse deed for the English race was done than this was, since they first sought out the land of Britain. Men murdered him, but God exalted him. In life he was an earthly king; after death he is now a heavenly saint. His earthly relatives would not avenge him, but his Heavenly Father has much avenged him". [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Burial	Aft 18 Mar 978	Wareham Priory, Dorsetshire, England   [6, 7]
  During the sixteenth century and English Reformation, King Henry VIII led the dissolution of the monasteries and many holy places were demolished. Edward's remains were hidden so as to avoid desecration. In 1931, the relics were recovered by Wilson-Claridge during an archaeological excavation; their identity was confirmed by Dr. T. E. A. Stowell, an osteologist. In 1970, examinations performed on the relics suggested that the young man had died in the same manner as Edward. Wilson-Claridge wanted the relics to go to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. His brother, however, wanted them to be returned to Shaftesbury Abbey. For decades, the relics were kept in a cutlery box in a bank vault at the Midland Bank in Woking, Surrey because of the unresolved dispute about which of two churches should have them. In time, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was victorious and placed the relics in a church in Brookwood Cemetery in Woking, with the enshrinement ceremony occurring in September 1984. The St Edward Brotherhood of monks was organized there as well. The church is now named St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church, and it is under the jurisdiction of a traditionalist Greek Orthodox community. However, while the bones are of approximately the right date, they are of a man in his late twenties or early thirties rather than a youth in his mid teens. [7]
  Canonized	1001 (38 years)  [4]
  He was canonized in 1001 and his feast day is 20th November.
  Half siblings	2 half brothers (family of Edgar and Ælfthryth )
  1. Edmund,   b. 965, England d. 970, England  (Age 5 years) + 2. Æthelred II, King of England,   b. 968, England d. 23 Apr 1016, London, England  (Age 48 years) ▻ Ælfgifu,  m. 985 ;   Emma of Normandy,  m. 5 Apr 1002
  Half siblings	1 half sister (family of Edgar and Wulfryth )
  1. Saint Eadgyth, Abbess of Barking
  Patriarch & Matriarch	Noe   (40 x Great Grandfather)  Æthelfæda the Fair  (Mother)
  Person ID, Branch	I22417
  Last Modified	23 Jun 2025

  
  

  Father	Edgar, King of England,   b. 943, Kingdom of Wessex, England d. 8 Jul 975, Winchester, Hampshire, England (Age 32 years)
  Mother	Æthelfæda the Fair
  Family ID	F2231	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Pedigree

  ← Click to display 1Saint Edward, King of England (962/63 – 978) 2Edgar, King of England(943 – 975) 4Edmund, King of England (Abt 922 – 946) 8Edward, King of England (875 – 924) 16Alfred, King of England (849 – 901) 17Ealhswith of Mercia(852 – 904) 9Eadgifu of Kent(896 – 968) 18Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent( – 902) 19 5Saint Ælfgifu( – 944) 10 20 21 11 22 23 3Æthelfæda the Fair 6 12 24 25 13 26 27 7 14 28 29 15 30 31

  
  

• Event Map		Crowned - 8 Jul 975 - Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England Death - 18 Mar 978 - Corfe Castle, Corfe Castle, Dorsetshire, England Burial - Aft 18 Mar 978 - Wareham Priory, Dorsetshire, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Coin of Edward the Martyr

  
  

• Sources 🟢 Primary Evidence 🟡 Secondary Evidence 🟠 Tertiary Evidence 🔴 Unreliable Evidence

  [S1461] Burke, John and John Bernard Burke. The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales with their Descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects , (London: E. Churton, 1848). [S1939] Cannon, John. Oxford: The Kings and Queens of Britain, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001). [S1940] Panton, Kenneth J. Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy, (Lanham, UK: Scarecrow Press, 2011). [S65] Sewell, Robert James. Sewell: A History of the Sewell Family from the Earliest Times, (unknown: manuscript, March 2008). [S1941] Soud, David. Kings & Queens of Great Britain, (San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press, 2017). [S1682] Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families, (London: Vintage Books, 1989). [S304] Wikipedia, Edward the Martyr.