England under the rule of a foreign king? How outrageous. Though I suppose it is only relatively recently that we can claim to have a mostly English monarch on our throne. Before that we were ruled by a long line of Germans, Scottish and Normans plus their spouses of varying nationalities.
Anyway, after years of concerted efforts to overrun our island and seize control of the country, the Danes finally won. Though Aethelred's son - the so-called Edmund Ironside - turned out to be a worthy opponent. So much so that he won the respect of King Canute and earned himself a huge swathe of England as a result. Once Canute became the official winner of a series of fierce battles, he took control of the Midlands but allowed Edmund to reign over southern England. A relatively good guy was Canute, then.
Edmund died soon after this agreement was reached which meant King Canute gained overall control of the country. Even then, Canute is alleged to have visited Edmund's grave where he laid a wreath of peacock feathers as a symbol of resurrection.
Ever the pragmatist, Canute went on to marry Edmund's stepmother - Emma of Normandy - by whom he had two children. He them promptly took a mistress, Aelfgifu, and had another two sons. This was to be a recipe for trouble, as we shall soon find out.
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