The Seven Grandsons of Alfred the Great

Alfred had seven grandson’s in total.

Kings of England (927–955):

Alfred’s three grandsons via the Edwardian line (through this son, Edward), were the first three kings of England.

• Æthelstan (r. 927 – 939)
• Edmund (r. 939 – 946)
• Eadred (r. 946 – 955)

Æthelstan, played by Harry Gilby in The Last Kingdom.

This also meant that Edward was the only person in English history to have fathered three kings of England.

Æthelstan was known for being the first king of England, after his conquest of Northern England in 927. He also became Overlord or Emperor of Britain.

His most famous victory was at the Battle of Brunanburh 937, against the combined Norse-Irish, Scottish, Strathclyde Britons and probably Northumbrian Norse and Danish forces.

Half of his kingdom crumbled upon his death and his brothers Edmund and Eadred spent their reigns rebuilding it.

The Royal Cousins

Alfred’s son Æthelweard also had two sons both of whom were Alfred’s grandsons:

• Ælfwine (d. 937)
• Æthelwine (d. 937)

All we know of them is that they died fighting for their cousin, King Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh 937, and were buried at Malmesbury Abbey, suggesting they were close with Æthelstan, who was a great patron of Malmesbury.

The potential locations for the Battle of Brunanburh

The Flemish Grandsons

Alfred also had two grandsons via his daughter Ælfthryth, who married Count Baldwin II of Flanders:

• Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (r. 918 – 964)
• Adelolf / Æthelwulf, Count of Boulogne (d. 933)

Baldwin’s lands were split between his sons. He had expanded into Artois and Boulougne during his reign, which were given to Æthelwulf as Count of Boulogne, while his eldest son Arnulf, became Count of Flanders, and after Æthelwulf’s death in 933, also became Count of Boulogne and ruled over Artois.

France was unstable at the time. The wars for the control of Charlemagne’s Empire continued, mainly between the Carolingians and the Robertians, but also Otto the Great of Germany. Many involved in these conflicts were in-laws or family members of Æthelstan, who took an interest in these disputes, even sending military aid to his nephew, Louis IV of West Francia in 939.

Arnulf was able to take advantage of these dynastic conflicts, allying via marriage to Vermandois, he expanded into Pontheiu and Amiens and was also responsible for the death of William (Longsword) Duke of Normandy in 942. He was succeeded by his four-year-old grandson Baldwin IV in 965.

Alfred’s line via Edward through Matilda of Scotland (wife of Henry I) remains within the British Royal Family today. His line via Ælfthryth, also remains in the Royal family via Matilda of Flanders (wife of William I).

Via Ælfthryth, Godfrey of Boulougne, the first ruler of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, is Alfred’s descendant.