Keynes takes the West Saxon view, arguing that Alfred created the "kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons", inherited by his son Edward the Elder in 899, and Æthelred ruled Mercia under the king. Keynes points out that according to Asser, the Welsh king Anarawd submitted to Alfred on the same terms as Æthelred—"Namely that in every respect he would be obedient to the royal will". Keynes regards the designation "K. Æthelred II" in the "Handbook of British Chronology" as a "delightfully provocative" extension of the "received wisdom" that Mercia retained a real measure of independence in Æthelred's time. However, Keynes also says: