English Benedictine Reform acceptance of Benedictinism, and that the movement's greatest benefactor, King Edgar, had played a major role in the unification by his demands for adherence to the Benedictine Rule. Æthelwold probably tutored Edgar as a boy, and was very close to him; it is likely that Æthelwold was influential in persuading the king to carry through his reforms and support Benedictine monasticism. Monks became dominant on the bishops' bench during his reign. Æthelwold was close to Queen Ælfthryth and supported the claim of her son Æthelred (978–1016) to be king against his elder half-brother, Edward (975–978). Dunstan supported Edward, who succeeded
Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk after that. They were overseen by wet nurses until they were six years old. Like their parents, they learned to play chess and to ride horses. They were visited by nobles and their half-sister Mary of Woodstock, who was a nun. Their mother often accompanied their father on his campaigns to Scotland, but kept herself well-informed on their well-being. Thomas's father died when he was 7 years old. Thomas's half-brother Edward, became king of England, as "King Edward II", and Thomas was heir presumptive until his nephew, the future King Edward III, was born in 1312. The Earldom of Cornwall