Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr (, pronounced ; 18 March 978) was King of England from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar the Peaceful but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leadership of England was contested, with some supporting Edward's claim to be king and others supporting his younger half-brother Æthelred the Unready, recognized as a legitimate son of Edgar. Edward was chosen as king and was crowned by his main clerical supporters, the archbishops Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of Worcester. The great nobles of
Handyside Edgar by their father), and the Osborne Estate (created around 100 years earlier by a Dr Osborne). He appears to have already had kinsfolk in Jamaica including several half-brothers and sisters fathered by Alexander Edgar with negro slaves. Handyside Edgar acted as a physician in both Trelawney and Montego Bay in Jamaica. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1786. His proposers were John Robison, John Playfair, and Andrew Dalzell. He died in Jamaica on 8 June 1806. He is buried there in St James Churchyard. A dispute over his will, between his brother Alexander Edgar