King Harold Harefoot Family Tree & Biography 1016-1040

 

King Harold Harefoot was a member of the House of Knytlinga. He was the son of King Canute by his first wife, Aelfgifu of Northampton. He ruled England from 1037 – 1040.

Contents

King Harold Harefoot Family Tree Image
King Harold Harefoot Family Tree in Table Form
King Harold Harefoot Short Biography

 

King Harold Harefoot Family Tree Image showing:

grandparents, parents, siblings, wives and children

King Harold Harefoot Family Tree

 

King Harold Harefoot Family Tree in Table Form showing:

grandparents, parents siblings, wives and children

 

GRANDPARENTS

Paternal Grandfather – Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway and England – (960 – 1014)

Paternal Grandmother – Gunhilda of Wenden or Sigrid / Swietoslawa – (dates not known)

Maternal GrandfatherNot known

Maternal Grandmother – Not known

PARENTS

Father – Canute the Great, King of Denmark, Norway and England – (995 – 1035) 

Mother – Aelfgifu of Northampton – (c.990 – c.1044)

SIBLING

Sweyn Knutsson, King of Norway – (1016 – 1035)

HALF SIBLINGS

Harthacnut – (1018 – 1042)

Gunhilda – (1020 – 1038)

MARRIED

Aelfgifu – (dates not known)

CHILDREN

Aelfwine – (dates unknown)

GRANDCHILDREN

No grandchildren

 

King Harold Harefoot Short Biography

King Harold Harefoot Family Tree

Early Life

Harold Harefoot was born in 1016 and died on 17th March 1040. He was the second son of King Canute the Great and Aelfgifu of Northampton, his elder brother Sweyn had been born in 1015.

Canute had successfully taken the English throne after conquering the country in 1016. Although Harold’s mother was still alive, Canute married King Aethelred’s widow, Emma of Normandy, to help gain the trust of the English people. When their first son, Harthacnut, was born Harold was displaced as heir to the throne.

When King Canute died on 12th November 1035, Harthacnut was declared King. However, he was in Denmark where he had been sent as regent for his father and due to a number of disturbances he was unable to return to England immediately.

Harold and Earl Godwin

In December 1035, Emma of Normandy’s sons by her first marriage to Aethelred the Unready, Edward and Alfred arrived in England. Edward landed at Southampton and Alfred came ashore in Kent. It is believed they hoped to take the throne and restore the house of Wessex.

Earl Godwin, the most powerful noble, who had allied himself with Harold Harefoot, met Alfred in Kent. He took him captive, blinded him and sent him to the monastery at Ely where he died of his injuries. Godwin would later claim that he was acting on Harold’s instructions. On hearing of his brother’s fate, Edward returned to Normandy.

King of England

Harthacnut was still in Denmark in 1037 and the Witan allowed Harold to take the throne.  Hardly any details of Harold’s reign have been recorded.

It is known that King Harold I married a lady by the name of Aelfgifu, but no details survive as to her parentage or her dates of birth and marriage. Her name disappeared from the records after Harold’s death.  They had a son, Aelfwine, who may have become a monk on the continent, but again no dates are recorded.

King Harold I died on 17th March 1040 at the age of 24 years. The cause of his death is not known. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Harthacnut

 

Published Jul 27 2020 – Updated – Dec 4 2024

 

Harvard Reference for Harold Harefoot Family Tree:

Heather Y Wheeler. (2020 – 2024). King Harold Harefoot Family Tree & Biography 1016-1040. Available: https://www.treesofblue.com/king-harold-i-harefoot-1016-1040. Last accessed December 19th, 2024