Edward the Martyr (963?–978)

reigned 975–78. He succeeded his father Edgar the Peaceful (Alfred's grandson). Because Edward was only 12 when he took the throne, many of the affairs of state were handled by his advisers, notably Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Edward was murdered, probably by order of his stepmother, Aelfthryth. Her son Ethelred II, called the Unready, became king.