Was Edgar The Aethling promised the throne by Edward?

Question: Was Edgar The Aethling promised the throne by Edward!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

No such promise could have been made, since Eadgar was only 10 years old at the time of Edward's death!. In Saxon law, he was not yet a man!.

Eadgar's first moment of potential kingship came with the death of Harold at Senlac Hill in 1066 - he was only a very minor claimant to the throne and much too young to have any trust put in him by the late king Edward; after the Conquest some of the remaining Saxon nobles may have had ideas about putting him forward to lead Saxon resistance to the Normans, but this idea was quickly crushed!.

William had Eadgar very closely monitored, then exiled; after a shambolic attempt at invading England with an army of Scots, he was eventually allowed to return to England but surrounded by a Norman entourage which prevented any thoughts of a resistance movement!.

Aethel is Old English for "noble" and the "-ing" ending in this case indicates something small, young or immature; the word also had a more specific meaning something like "heir to the throne", but it is far from certain that this is the meaning intended in the case of Eadgar!. It may simply have indicated a man of noble birth!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

This is an interesting question as Edward the Confessor seems to have promised the English throne on a couple of occasions!. It's thought that he promised it to William of Normandy, and possibly to Harold of Wessex!. However, I think it's unlikely that such a promise was made to Edgar!. I should think that certain English nobles considered Edgar because he was a blood relative to Edward, but apart from that there's little justification in holding the idea that Edgar could rule England successfully, certainly owing to his youth!. On serious consideration, the Witangemot (the royal council) recognised Harold as the best candidate: he was the most powerful English earl, and was well liked!. also, he was the most likely person to be able to resist an invasion from Normandy!. So if they thought that, then it's quite likely that William had been promised the throne!. With regard to the word "atheling", this means "king's son", which is more than just prince or of noble birth!. However, it appears that the term is granted lightly to Edgar as he was not the son of a king, neither was he any other sort of prince!. Of noble birth!? Yes!. So, to get back to the question: was Edgar promised the throne by Edward!? It would seem that he wasn't!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I agree with the previous answer, and would like to add that Edgar wasn't even living in England at this time; he was in Europe!. But it would have been interesting if he'd become king as his sister married King Malcom of Scotland!. But, no, Edgar wasn't promised the throne!.Www@QuestionHome@Com