Once she does, the son will become a rival for the throne. Unfortunately, the only way for Emma to have any real standing in England is for her to produce a son. Athelstan has all the intelligence and steadiness that a king should have, everything his father does not. She is able to make a few friends-most importantly, Athelstan, the king’s eldest son and heir. He takes out his frustration and fear on his new wife and his sons.Įmma struggles to deal with the realities of her new life in the strange land with a husband she quickly learns to despise. Guilt and his own ineffectiveness as a king have driven him more than half mad. The rumors are true, and Athelred did nothing to warn his brother of what was to come. He gained his throne as a boy after his elder stepbrother, Edward, was murdered–most people believe that Athelred's mother was responsible for plotting Edward’s murder. He uses Emma as a hostage, treating her with the same disdain and mistrust that all his counselors and subjects receive. He already has six sons by a previous wife, and he is marrying Emma only for political reasons, to make a treaty with Normandy that he hopes will keep the Danes from England’s shores. Athelred is significantly older than Emma.
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