King Athelstan (Aethelstan) (924 - 939)
Name: King Athelstan (Aethelstan)
Born: c.895
Parents: Edward the Elder and Ecgywn
Relation to Charles III: 31st great-granduncle
House of: Wessex
Ascended to the throne: July 17, 924
Crowned: September 4, 925 at Kingston-upon-Thames, aged c.30
Married: Unmarried
Children: None
Died: October 27, 939 at Gloucester
Buried at: Malmesbury
Reigned for: 15 years, 3 months, 9 days
Succeeded by: his half brother Edmund
The son of Edward the Elder, Athelstan was King of Wessex and Mercia 924–39. He continued the work of his grandfather King Alfred, and father Edward who had conquered the Danish territories in east Mercia and East Anglia with the assistance of his aunt Athelflæd and her husband Athelred.
Athelstan extended his rule into Northumbria and Stathclyde, invaded Scotland, and married his sister to Sihtric the Viking King of York. At the battle of Brunanburh Athelstan defeated an alliance of Scots, Celts, Danes, and Vikings.
Athelstan’s claim to be the ‘King of the English and ruler of the whole of Britain’ is debatable. His position was tenuous, and by his death Anglo-Saxon control of the North, seemingly made safe by the victory of Brunanburh, had collapsed. Northumbria had taken back control, and York ruled by the Viking King Olaf Guthfrithson regained parts of the Midlands in East Mercia. The reigns of Athelstan's half-brothers Edmund (939–946) and Eadred (946–955) were largely devoted to regaining control.
Athelstan never married and had no children.
Timeline for King Athelstan (Aethelstan)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 924 | Athelstan becomes King of Wessex and Mercia on the death of his father Edward the Elder. |
| 926 | Athelstan annexes Northumbria, and forces the kings of Wales, Strathclyde, the Picts, and the Scots to submit to him |
| 926 | Athelstan marries his sister to Sihtric the Viking King of York to cement his ties with the North |
| 934 | Athelstan invades Scotland |
| 937 | Battle of Brunanburh: Athelstan defeats alliance of Scots, Celts, Danes, and Vikings, and takes the title of King of all Britain |
| 939 | Athelstan dies at Gloucester and is buried at Malmesbury. |