Edgar Atheling

Unfortunately, Edgar was growing up into a time when being the heir the throne of England was something that was highly desired and disputed by many. Despite the fact the problem of there being no official heir to the throne solved, there were many differing opinions on behalf of many people as to who should actually be the next king. Differing accounts read that promises were made, family trees examined, and armies raised in order for theses people to defend and enforce what they believed to be their rightful claim to the throne. The amount of these disputes that Edgar understood is debatable, but he was in any case, close to powerless in his ability to defend his own right.

To the people of England, it seemed that the logical choice would be Harold Godwineson. Harold was the son of Earl Godwin, an exceedingly clever man who had been the viceroy to many of the English monarchs, thereby making his family one of the most powerful in all of England. When his father died, Harold rose to power and became the commander of the armies and viceroy to the king. He was admired and respected by the English people, and was deeply influential and involved in the kingdom’s politics and government—especially as Edward aged and his health declined. It would seem that, in the king’s later years, Harold had more power and influence than the king himself. His already being so knowledgeable and experienced in running the kingdom made him seem to be a very rational, logical choice as a candidate to protect and govern the English. However, Harold had no veritable, blood claim to the throne, so his becoming king would go against tradition and genealogical succession. In any case, he himself did not outwardly campaign such a decision for himself. In a...

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