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| Illustration in The Encomium of Queen Emma (1050) |
Birth name: Emma de Normandie
Born: c. 984, Duchy of Normandy, Kingdom of West Francia
Father: Richard I, Count of Rouen 'The Fearless'
Mother: Gunnor
House: Normandy
Nationality: Norman
Consort of: Æthelred 'The Unready' then Cnut 'The Great'
Reign: c. 1002 - c. 1013 (11 years) then 03 February 1014 - 23 April 1016 (2 years) then July 1017 - 12 November 1035 (18 years)
Coronation: N/A
Predecessor: Ælfgifu of York then Sigrid of Sweden 'The Haughty' or Świętosława of Poland *disputed*
Concurrent: Ælfgifu of Northampton *disputed*
Successor: Sigrid of Sweden 'The Haughty' or Świętosława of Poland *disputed* then Ealdgyth of East Anglia
Died: 06 March 1052 (aged 68), Winchester, Wessex, Kingdom of England
Cause: *Unknown*
Burial: Old Minster then Winchester Cathedral
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- King Æthelred of the English 'The Unready' (m. 1002 - 1016)
- King Cnut of Denmark, Norway and the English 'The Great' (m. 1017 - 1035)
Children:
- With King Æthelred of the English
- Saint King Edward of the English 'The Confessor' (c. 1003 - 1066)
- Godgifu Æthele, Countess of the Vexin and Boulogne (c. 1004 - 1049)
- Alfred Ætheling (c. 1012 - 1036)
- With King Cnut of Denmark, Norway and the English
- King Harthacnut of Denmark and the English 'Tough-Knot' (c. 1018 - 1042)
- Gunhilda, Queen of the Germans (c. 1020 - 1038)
Unknown.
Character:
She was credited as displaying a great deal of grace and nobility, and was also very intelligent and shrewd.
Emma was also very protective of her sons, and helped and guided them during their own rise to power. However, she was greatly resented by her eldest son, who believed that she had abandoned him.
She was ambitious on behalf of both herself and her children, ensuring advantageous marriages were arranged.
Biography:
Emma was born some time around the year 984 in the Duchy of Normandy in the Kingdom of West Francia. She was the fifth of seven children born to Richard I, Count of Rouen, and his second wife, a forester's sister named Gunnor. Emma may have also had five illegitimate half-siblings. She was of Viking descent, and was born during the height of their raids across the kingdoms surrounding the North Sea, with Normandy often being used as their base of operations.
Not much is known about Emma's early life, but by 1002, she was sought after as a bride by King Æthelred of the English in order to improve England's relationship with Normandy, especially after he had attempted to kidnap Emma's brother. Their marriage was also hoped to prevent further Viking threats towards England.
Once the two of them were married, Emma adopted the name of Ælfgifu in order to sound more Anglo-Saxon, and she officially became the Queen Consort of England. Emma and Æthelred would go on to have three children together. However, Æthelred, for the most part, was a very weak ruler, and the Vikings once again invaded in 1013, with King Sweyn of Denmark and Norway conquering England and proclaiming himself king. When this happened, Emma, her husband, and their children were forced to flee into exile in Normandy.
This exile would not last long since Sweyn died within five weeks of becoming King of England. Emma returned to England with her family, and her husband once again assumed his role of king, while Emma once again became his consort.
Æthelred's second reign would only last for two years until his death in 1016, leaving Emma a widow.
Æthelred had been married previously before Emma, and had produced children with his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. His eldest son from his first marriage, Edmund Ironside, declared himself as his father's heir, but Emma refused to recognise this. She attempted to have her sons, particularly her eldest son, Edward, recognised as the next heir to the throne. This move did receive some popular support, especially since Edmund had previously rebelled against his father.
With Æthelred now dead, and his son, King Edmund Ironside, following soon afterwards, England was once again conquered by the Vikings who had invaded England once again in 1014. Sweyn's son, Cnut, was proclaimed the new King of the English, despite Emma's attempts to help maintain Anglo-Saxon control of the kingdom.
With Cnut as the new king, this placed her sons in great danger of being killed, so in order to save their lives, she agreed to marry Cnut in exchange for their lives. The two of them married in 1017, even though Cnut was already married to an English noblewoman, Ælfgifu of Northampton. Possessing two wives was not completely uncommon at the time, especially since Cnut and Ælfgifu were likely married in a more pagan style ceremony, meaning it was a marriage not recognised by the Christian faith. Ælfgifu had also been sent to the Kingdom of Norway with her eldest son where they ruled as regents while Cnut remained in England.
Upon her second marriage, Emma was now the Queen Consort of England once again, but was now also the Queen Consort of Denmark and Norway. Despite their marriage being a political alliance, it appears that both Emma and Cnut both felt genuine affection for each other, and they went on to have two children together in their eighteen years of marriage. Her children from her first marriage largely remained in exile on the continent.
In 1035, her second husband, Cnut passed away, leaving Emma a widow once again, and leading to a succession crisis within England. Ælfgifu, Cnut's first wife, was quick to have her son, Harold Harefoot, elected as the new King of England, especially while Emma's eldest son by Cnut, Harthacnut, remained in Denmark dealing with rebellions. Once again, this move was not supported by Emma, as she believed that it was her son that was the rightful King of the English, as well as Denmark and Norway.
However, her eldest sons, Edward and Alfred, were able to finally leave exile and came to visit their mother in 1036. During their trip, they were both attacked. While Edward managed to escape, Alfred was captured and blinded by a red hot poker (which would have made him ineligible to become king), and would later die from his injuries. Emma would blame King Harold and his mother, Ælfgifu, for the incident. It's possible that this was true, however, it's also possible that it was orchestrated by Godwin, Earl of Wessex.
Both Emma and Harthacnut refused to recognise Harold as king, and Harthacnut was finally able to begin planning an invasion of England in 1039. Emma went on to join him, but before the invasion could begin, King Harold Harefoot died just a year later in 1040. Harthacnut was finally properly elected as King of England, and he was finally able to cross the North Sea alongside Emma to claim his crown.
Though he was initially welcomed, he soon became unpopular due to his large tax rates and for disrespecting his half-brother, Harold Harefoot's body by throwing it into a ditch instead of giving him a proper burial. However, Harthacnut would also not rule for long, and just a year later, when he knew he was dying, he recognised his older half-brother, Edward, from Emma's first marriage as his heir. It's possible that this decision was greatly influenced by Emma.
Harthacnut died in 1042, and Emma's eldest son became King Edward of the English. Unfortunately, not long after Edward became king, Emma was accused of treason, and she was stripped of her lands and titles by Edward himself. Her loyalty had been called into question, and Edward perhaps harboured some resentment towards her for her apparent favouritism towards Harthacnut, but this is mainly speculation.
Regardless, Emma did eventually have some of her lands restored to her, and she mainly stayed away from the English court, living mostly by herself. During this time, there were also accusations that Emma had grown too close to one of her second husband's closest advisors, the Bishop of Winchester; though fact and legend become very blurred regarding this incident.
Emma spent the rest of her days living quietly in her properties in Winchester.
She eventually died of unknown causes in 1052.
Rule:
Emma is the only Queen Consort in English history to have been Queen of England twice via her marriage to two different Kings.
She did not play much of a role in her first reigns while married to King Æthelred, and mostly served to provide an alliance between England and Normandy, though she was a witness for some charters.
It was during her marriage to Cnut where her role became more prominent, likely helped by the fact that Viking culture often gave more rights to women than Anglo-Saxon culture.
Emma was able to cleverly save the lives of her sons by completely surrendering to Cnut and creating a bargain that would spare them from being murdered by him.
As queen, she was a patron of the arts and was skilled with commissioning propaganda, especially when it came to having her own sons being recognised as the rightful heirs to the throne.
She was also a capable regent while her husbands and sons were away on campaigns.
Trivia:
- There is a legend that she was accused of having an affair with the Bishop of Winchester and was forced to walk barefoot over red hot ploughs. Due to her innocence, it was believed Saint Swithun protected her, preventing her from feeling the pain and receiving any burns.
Quotes:
N/A
Sources & Further Reading:
Bender, B. M. (2025). Emma of Normandy. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Emma_of_Normandy/
Emma Receiving the Encomium.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2025). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Receiving_the_Encomium.jpg
Masson, V. (n.d.). Emma of Normandy. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Emma-Of-Normandy/
Watt, D. (2017). Emma of Normandy and Women’s Agency between Conquests | Women’s Literary Culture and the Medieval Canon. Surrey.ac.uk. https://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/medievalwomen/2017/12/12/emma-of-normandy-and-womens-agency-between-conquests/
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