Æthelstan

Æthelstan was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 until his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife Ecgwynn, and modern historians regard him as the first King of England. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England, and in 934 he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him. In 937 the Scots and Vikings invaded England but Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory that gave him great prestige in the British Isles and on the Continent. He centralised government, increased control over the production of charters, and was known for collecting relics and founding churches; he never married and was succeeded by his half-brother Edmund I.