Constitutional status of Cornwall of Exeter, styled himself as "King of the English, and ruler of this province of Britons". Edmund's successor Edgar styled himself "King of the English and ruler of the adjacent nations". This was followed by king Aethelred II (978–1016) describing Cornwall not as an English shire, but as a province, or client territory. Surviving charters issued by the Kings of England Edmund I (939–946), Edgar (959–975), Edward the Martyr (975–978), Aethelred II (978–1016), Edmund II (1016), Cnut (1016–1035) and Edward the Confessor (1042–1066) record grants of land in Cornwall made by these kings. In contrast to the easterly concentration of
Edward II of England his later years, although 19th-century academics later argued that the growth of parliamentary institutions during his reign was a positive development for England over the longer term. Debate has continued into the 21st century as to whether Edward was a lazy and incompetent king, or simply a reluctant and ultimately unsuccessful ruler. Edward II was the fourth son of Edward I and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile. His father was the king of England and had also inherited Gascony in south-western France, which he held as the feudal vassal of the King of France, and the Lordship of Ireland.