Page "Æthelstan" Paragraph 7

On 17 July 924 Edward died, and the events which followed are very unclear.

Ælfweard, Edward's eldest son by Ælfflæd, had ranked above Æthelstan in attesting a charter in 901, and Edward may have intended Ælfweard to be his successor as king, either of Wessex only or of the whole kingdom.

When Edward died Æthelstan was apparently with him in Mercia while Ælfweard was in Wessex, and Mercia elected Æthelstan as king and Wessex Ælfweard.

Whether a division of the kingdom was intended is uncertain, but Ælfweard only outlived his father by sixteen days, which changed everything.

Even after this there seems to have been opposition to Æthelstan in Wessex, particularly in Winchester, where Ælfweard was buried.

According to William of Malmesbury, a certain Alfred plotted to blind Æthelstan on account of his supposed illegitimacy, and Ælfweard's full brother Edwin was allegedly involved in the plot.

Æthelstan does not appear to have established his authority in Wessex until mid 925, and he was not crowned until 4 September 925.