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 Britroyals

House of Wessex - King Edward The Elder


Name: King Edward The Elder
Father: Alfred the Great
Mother: Ealswith of Mercia
Born: c.871
Married:(1) Ecgywn
Married (2): Elfleda
Married (3): Edgiva.  
Children: 5 sons and 11 daughters
Died: July 17, 924 at Farndon-on-Dee
Buried at: Winchester

King of the West Saxons. He succeeded his father Alfred the Great in 899. He reconquered southeast England and the Midlands from the Danes, uniting Wessex and Mercia with the help of his sister Aethelflaed. By the time of his death his kingdom was the most powerful in the British Isles. He was succeeded by his son Athelstan.

Edward extended the system of burghal defence begun by Alfred, building new burhs, for example at Hertford and Buckingham, and twin burhs at Bedford and Stamford

Timeline for King Edward The Elder

YearEvent
900 Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, crowned at Kingston-upon-Thames
901 Edward the Elder takes the title "King of the Angles and Saxons"
902 Eric, ruler of the Danes in East Anglia, dies in the Battle of Holme
910 Reconquest of Danelaw lands begins. The last great Viking army sent to ravage England is defeated by an army of Wessex and Mercia.
913 Edward the Elder recaptures Essex from the Danes
915 Edward is accepted as overlord by Ragnald ruler of the Viking Kingdom of York
916 Edward's sister Aethelflaed of Mercia attacks and conquers most of Wales
916 Vikings establish settlements at Dublin and Waterford in Ireland
918 Edward becomes ruler of Mercia following the death of his sister Aethelflaed
920 Edward takes East Anglia from the Danes
923 The Scottish King Constantine II submits to Edward
924 Edward dies at Farndon-on-Dee near Chester leading an army against the Welsh. He is buried in Winchester.