In Episode 3 of 20 Minute Monarch, Pete and Chris unpack the life and reign of Æthelstan. We consider how a once-questioned heir became the most powerful Anglo-Saxon ruler of his day: taking York, securing the submission of northern kings and Welsh rulers, shaping royal ceremony and law, and creating the diplomatic ties that made England visible on the European stage. Along the way we explain why many historians call Æthelstan the first king of all England — and why his reign still matters.

Æthelstan, Aethelstan, Æthelstan reign 924–939, first king of England, Anglo-Saxon kings, York 927, Danelaw, early medieval England podcast, 20 Minute Monarch

#BritishHistory #PublicHistory #EducationalPodcast #HistoryPodcast

In Episode 2 of 20 Minute Monarch, Pete and Chris take a tidy break-time tour of Edward the Elder’s life and reign. We look at how Edward inherited a fragile kingdom from Alfred, beat back internal rivals, worked with powerful regional leaders (including his sister Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians), and pushed back the Danish-controlled Danelaw. Along the way we unpack the campaigns, the burh network and frontier policy, family politics that mattered for succession, and why Edward is an important — sometimes underrated — link between Alfred and the first truly all-English king, Æthelstan.

Edward the Elder, Edward 899–924, Anglo-Saxon kings, Æthelstan precursor, Danelaw reconquest, burhs, Æthelflæd, succession after Alfred, early medieval England podcast, 20 Minute Monarch

#BritishHistory #PublicHistory #EducationalPodcast #HistoryPodcast