Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is Episode 362. Meet the Godwins.

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History is just the story of humans across time. And therefore, like humanity, history

is varied. It's emotional. It's complex. And often, and often, it's just fucking messy.

Being Edward of England was pushing 40. And as new bride, Edith was only about 22.

And if you're a modern royal watcher or even just a fan of the crown, you'll know that

this is pretty close to the same age gap that was stretching between Charles and Diana.

So I'm sure that was going great. But on top of this, Edward and Edith would have also

had to navigate a significant cultural gap. You see, Edith was a noble woman from an Anglo-Danish

noble family. And yeah, I know. Her grandfather had that brief bout of piracy back in the

day thanks to getting back stabbed by Edric Strayona and his cronies. But since then, Godwin,

his son, had managed to get himself back into the aristocratic clubhouse, starting with

Knut's reign. And he'd been in the halls of power ever since, which meant that Edith

had been raised in or at least raised adjacent to the Anglo-Danish court. So she was refined.

Culturally, aesthetically, and politically. And while it is clear that her father, Godwin,

stood to gain quite a lot from having yet another tie to power, Edith was actually quite an

asset to the crown. And for Edward, she possessed an undeniable diplomatic savvy.

Immediately after the wedding, Edith hired on a French femme de Chambre, and her name was

...