EDWARD
III 'THE CONFESSOR' (r. 1042-1066)In 1042 Edward 'the Confessor' became
King. As the surviving son of Ethelred and his second wife, Emma, he was a half-brother
of Hardicanute. With few rivals (Canute's line was extinct and Edward's only male
relatives were two nephews in exile), Edward was undisputed King; the threat of
usurpation by the King of Norway rallied the English and Danes in allegiance to
Edward. Brought up in exile in Normandy, Edward lacked military ability or reputation.
His Norman sympathies caused tensions with one of Canute's most powerful earls,
Godwin of Wessex, whose daughter, Edith, Edward married in 1045 (the marriage
was childless).
These tensions resulted in the crisis of 1050-52, when Godwin
assembled an army to defy Edward. With reinforcements from the earls of Mercia
and Northumberland, Edward banished Godwin from the country and sent Queen Edith
from court. Edward used the opportunity to appoint Normans to places at court,
and as sheriffs at local level. William, Duke of Normandy may have been designated
heir. However, the hostile reaction to this increased Norman influence brought
Godwin back. Edward subsequently formed a closer alliance with Godwin's son Harold,
who led the army as the King's deputy (he defeated a Welsh incursion in 1055)
and whom Edward may have named as heir on his deathbed.
Warding off political
threats, England during the last 15 years of Edward's reign was relatively peaceful.
Prosperity was rising as agricultural techniques improved and the population rose
to around one million. Taxation was comparatively light, as Edward was not an
extravagant king and lived off the revenues of his own lands (approximately ?5,500
a year) - nor did he have to pay for expensive military campaigns. Deeply religious,
Edward was responsible for building Westminster Abbey (in the Norman style) and
he was buried there after his death in 1066.