Introduction

On October 26th, 899, Alfred the Great died. Edward was probably somewhere in his 20s at this point. His cousin Atholwald Aathling also had a claim to the throne. Would the Whittan look for who held the eldest line and select Atholwald? Or would it select the heir to the most recent monarch of the House of Wessex and pick Edward? It's not an easy call, and Edward couldn't be sure exactly which way the Whitten would go.