​Lady Ealdgyth of the Five Boroughs

One of the short-lived Queens of England was Lady Ealdgyth of the Five Boroughs.

Ealdgyth hailed from the North Midlands and is said to have been born around the year 992. Chroniclers describe her as a woman of "distinguished lineage," however no evidence survives to indicate who her immediate family may have been. The details we do have suggest that she was a kinswoman to Ælfgifu of Northampton, the first wife of King Cnut, the enemy of Ealdgyth's own future husband. This does make it likely that she held Scandinavian heritage.

 

Ealdgyth was first married to a Danish nobleman of the Five Boroughs, named Sigeferth. Sigeferth was a leading Thegn of Danelaw lands, in the North of England. We do not know when the marriage occurred, but it is likely to have been when she was young. There are no known children from the marriage, nor is there any surviving evidence to indicate whether it was a happy union or not.

However, we do know that it was not a long-lasting union.

 

The King on the throne at the time of Ealdgyth's first marriage was King Æthelred "the unready." During King Æthelred's reign, England was plagued by Viking attacks and by 1015, when Ealdgyth attended a council with her husband, the King held some very anti-Scandinavian views. During the council meeting, a favourite of the King, Ealdorman Eadric Streona of Mercia, murdered both Sigeferth and his brother, Morcar. It is believed that this occurred under King Æthelred's orders, and he did take into his possession the lands belonging to Sigeferth and Morcar, after the murders. Unfortunately for the supporters of Ealdgyth's marital family, when they tried to avenge the murders, they were taken to the tower of St. Frideswide's Church, only to be locked inside before the whole building was set ablaze.

 

As for the young widow, Ealdgyth, she had a strong claim to the lands that the King had stolen from her husband, as well as holding the loyalty of those who resided on the estates. King Æthelred was all too aware of this and had Ealdgyth arrested and held in Malmesbury Abbey, where she was then supposed to remain for the rest of her life.

 

Whilst in her prison, Ealdgyth received a visit from the ætheling, Edmund. As the story goes, Edmund had a poor relationship with his father and decided to seek out the young widow he had arrested. Upon meeting the Lady Ealdgyth, Edmund fell in love with her. Whether Ealdgyth felt the same for him is not recorded.

The pair were married in late Summer 1015, with the support of Ealdgyth's allies in the North, but crucially without the consent of the King. It is entirely possible that, as with other unions of the time, the marriage between Ealdgyth and Edmund was purely political; the tale of Edmund's falling in love with the young and beautiful widow at first sight is likely a product of fiction.

Once they were married, Ealdgyth persuaded her new husband to ask the King for Sigeferth's lands. King Æthelred's refusal of this request, sparked the first open rebellion by his son, Edmund. The ætheling took the Northumbrian lands that Ealdgyth had desired, with the full support of the local population.

Another thing to support the idea that Ealdgyth's second marriage was not quite a love match, but merely a political one, is the fact that her connections within the Northern regions of England were pivotal to Edmund being able to establish his position as the ruler of Northumbria.

 

Ealdgyth's joy at recovering her late husband's stolen lands did not last long. Shortly after the wedding, Cnut, the son of the short-lived King Sweyn "Forkbeard,"

Landed in England and initiated raids on Kent and Wessex. Edmund's marriage to Ealdgyth apparently did not offer him any Viking sympathies, and he left Ealdgyth to stand against the invading army.

 

In April 1016 King Æthelred died and Edmund was quickly proclaimed the new King of England, as Edmund "Ironside," by the citizens of London. Ealdgyth was suddenly the Queen, though she was never given the official title. It is likely that Ealdgyth had already bore her two children by this time; she had two sons by Edmund, who were possibly twins as they were both said to have been born in 1016.

However, she was soon left alone again as Edmund had to go to battle against Cnut, who had been proclaimed King by the Witan. A battle for the throne had begun.

 

The Battle of Assandun on 18th October 1016 saw the defeat of Edmund and the division of the Kingdom between Edmund and Cnut; Edmund would hold the South, with Wessex, which is where Ealdgyth was most likely residing during the dispute. Cnut took control of Mercia and the North of England, including London. 

 

Ealdgyth became a widow for a second time when Edmund died on 30th November 1016. She was little more than 24 years old at the time. It is thought that Edmund died from wounds he had received during the battle, but other sources indicate he may have been murdered by Eadric Streona, under the orders of King Cnut. If this was the case, that would mean that Ealdgyth had lost two husbands at the hands of the same Ealdorman, all before the age of 25.

It is not confirmed whether Edmund was indeed murdered, but William of Malmesbury wrote an account of the King's death, which involved an assassin hiding in the privy; in this version of the tale, Edmund went to use the toilet and the assassin drove an iron rod inside of him.

Whatever caused Edmund's death, King Cnut took possession of the entirety of England, and Ealdgyth was left alone.

 

It is not known where Ealdgyth's story went after the death of her second husband. However, we do know some more about Ealdgyth's children, and because of this, we know crucial information about her descendants. Her infant sons were considered a threat by King Cnut and he exiled them to Sweden; it is entirely possible that Ealdgyth went with them into exile.

Cnut was unwilling, it seems, to murder the infant boys, but when the young Edward and Edmund were sent into exile, Cnut sent secret instructions to the King of Sweden to have them both killed. Thankfully, the Swedish King spared the boys' lives, allowing them to take refuge in Hungary instead. Edward, most likely the elder of the brothers, became known as Edward "the exile" and he and his brother, Edmund, were raised in Hungary as penniless Princes.

While in Hungary, Edward was wed to Princess Agatha of Kiev, the sister of the Queen of Hungary. Both Edward and Edmund remained prominent figures at the Hungarian court for the rest of their lives.

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Edward's surviving daughters, Margaret and Cristina, fled to Scotland. Margaret became known as Saint Margaret and married the King of the Scots. The daughter of this union, Matilda, would eventually marry Henry I of England and become his Queen.

 

Though we know little of Lady Ealdgyth of the Five Boroughs, she will always be remembered as the ancestress of all the rest of England's future monarchs. She may have had only a short time in the spotlight during her own lifetime, and an even shorter time as Queen of England, but her legacy is clear and everlasting.