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
Edward II of England the Count of Flanders, but this too failed after it was blocked by King Philip IV of France. Between 1297 and 1298, Edward was left as regent in charge of England while the king campaigned in Flanders against Philip IV, who had occupied part of the English king's lands in Gascony. On his return, Edward I signed a peace treaty, under which he took Philip's sister, Margaret, as his wife and agreed that Prince Edward would in due course marry Philip's daughter, Isabella, who was then only two years old. In theory, this marriage would mean that the disputed Duchy