Æthelstan (925-940)

Æthelstan was born in 895. He had no wife and no children.

He had massive amounts of support including three Welsh princes, many Danish earls, and quickly gained the rest of the English lands, including Northumbria, which at this time included the southern lands of modern Scotland and subsequently fought at the Battle of Brunanburh in an effort to gain Scottish lands. It was at this battle that two of his nephews were killed.

His sisters made great marriages to five European monarchs which added to the prestige and wealth of the family, and to England, for Æthelstan forwarded a great religious and cultural awakening, collecting a huge amount of jewellery, art and relics.

Æthelstan was the first king to be officially placed on coins, and he styled himself to be Emperor of the English and Ruler of all Britain.