Edward the Elder Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred. Alfred had succeeded Æthelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the
HMS King Alfred (1901) 5 inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from and the conning tower was protected by of armour. "King Alfred", named after Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon King of Wessex, was laid down on 11 August 1899 by Vickers, Sons & Maxim at their shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness and launched on 28 October 1901, when she was named by the Countess of Lathom. She left Barrow for Portsmouth in early June 1902, and was completed on 22 December 1903. After commission, she ran aground off Shoeburyness on 5 May 1905. She became flagship of the China Station in 1906 and