Edward arguably exceeded Alfred's military achievements, restoring the Danelaw to Saxon rule and reigning in Mercia from 918, after the death of his sister, Ethelfleda. He spent his early reign fighting his cousin Aethelwald, son of Ethelred I. He had about eighteen children from his three marriages, and may have had an illegitimate child, too. He died in 924 and was buried at Winchester. The portrait included here is imaginary and was drawn together with portraits of other Anglo-Saxon monarchs by an unknown artist in the 18th century.
At Alfred's death (899) Edward's succession was disputed by his cousin Æthelwold, who allied himself with the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia.
He was also accepted as overlord by several Welsh rulers and by English Northumbria, and he is supposed to have received the submission of Constantine II of Scotland.
The right of the overlordship of Scotland, based on Edward's position, was asserted by later English kings.
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