Edward the Confessor
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The last king of the House of Wessex before the Normans took England, Edward ruled 24 years and died without heirs - setting off the 1066 succession crisis that ended at Hastings. A century later the Church made him a saint.
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Photos 9
A sealed writ of Edward the Confessor
Edward's seal: SIGILLVM EADWARDI ANGLORVM BASILEI (Seal of Edward crowned/King of the English).
Penny of Edward the Confessor
Harold Godwinson meeting Edward shortly before Edward's death, as depicted in scene 25 of the Bayeux Tapestry
Edward's funeral in Westminster Abbey (left), where he is buried, as depicted in scene 26 of the Bayeux Tapestry
Dioceses of England under the rule of Edward the ConfessorIn their orbit 12
Nearby in historical figures 6
About this person
Edward was born between 1003 and 1005, son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He became King of the English in 1042 after his half-brother Harthacnut died, restoring the House of Wessex after Danish rule since 1016. Historians split on the 24-year reign: some see disintegration and the rise of the House of Godwin, others argue he was energetic and ruthless until the Godwins returned from exile in 1052, after which his power effectively ended. When Edward died on 5 January 1066 he left no heirs. His brother-in-law Harold Godwinson took the throne and fell at Hastings later that year to William the Conqueror. Pope Alexander III canonised Edward in 1161; he remained a national saint until Edward III switched to George around 1350.
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