He was elected king of England by the population of London following his father's death in April 1016, but his rival, Canute the Great, enjoyed greater support throughout the country.
Edmund married Ealdgyth (Edith) of East Anglia (born c. 986), the daughter of Mocar and Edgitha, in 1015.
The known children of Edmund and Ealdgyth (Edith) are:
Edward the Exile "Aetheling" (1016–1057), who was born in Wessex and died in London and who married Agatha around the year 1035.
Edmund (born c. 1017 in Wessex).
Edmund II was eventually defeated by the Danes, and was allowed by Canute to keep the kingdom of Wessex, on the understanding that whichever of them survived the other would become ruler of the whole of England.
Shortly after making this agreement, Edmund II died, on November 30, 1016, and was buried at Glastonbury. Some say he was stabbed in the bowels while going to the privy.
Edward was born at the Palace of Westminster on 17 or 18 June 1239.
In 1269 Cardinal Ottobono, the Papal Legate, arrived in England and appealed to Prince Edward and his brother Edmund to participate in the Eighth Crusade alongside Louis IX of France.
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, (1301–1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell and had issue.