Late Anglo-Saxon Period Kings of Wessex By the time Edward the Martyr took the throne in 975, Christianity was widespread throughout England and the rest of Britain. Edward was born in 963, and was just entering his teenage years when his father, Edgar, died. He made a claim to the throne, as the first son of the king. His half-brother Aethelred, son of the third wife, made another claim (qtd in Britannia 1). Edward was murdered when he rode to visit Aethelred at Corfe is Dorset. Aethelred’s vassals pretended to welcome Edward, and in doing so, stabbed him. It is safe to assume that Aethelred would not have instigated this incident, being a mere seven years of age at the