Death of Cnut the Great

Timeline

1. 1035Shaftesbury · DorsetCnut the Great died at Shaftesbury, Dorset, aged about forty-something. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and other records, on his deathbed he urged his sons to rule harmoniously together and designated his legitimate son Harthacnut as heir. His body was later buried at the Old Cathedral in Winchester.
2. 1035–1036Winchester · HampshireAfter Cnut's death, his legitimate son Harthacnut remained in Denmark dealing with the Norwegian war, while his illegitimate son Harold Harefoot assumed the regency with the support of English magnates. A power struggle between Queen Emma and the sons soon unfolded, and the unity of the North Sea Empire could not be sustained.