evil deeds of his enemies. She remained in Flanders until her other son, Edward the Confessor, came to the throne, when she returned to Winchester. She is said to have been inordinately fond of money and jewels, and to have accumulated great hoards of wealth. She was sincerely attached to Canute, but would do nothing for her elder sons, the children of Ethelred; when Edward the Confessor came to the throne he complained greatly of this, and took from her all her possessions, saying that she had never aided him with money when he was in need. She died dishonoured at Winchester in 1052. When Harald died at Oxford in 1040, the English, “thinking that they did well,” as the Chronicle says, sent at once for Hardacanute to come from Denmark and occupy the throne of his father Canute and his half-brother Harald. They hoped little from Ethelred’s sons, but much from this son of the great Canute, whom they had rarely seen, for most of his life had been passed in Denmark. He, too, was the son of Emma, and seemed destined to unite the two races of Danes and English into one nation. Their hopes in him were disappointed, as we shall see. But first we must retrace our steps a little and tell the history of this prince. When Canute returned from his visit to Denmark in 1026 he had left his young son, then only nine years of age, to replace him there. He placed him under the charge of a very distinguished man, Earl Ulf,[44] who had married Canute’s sister and became the father of Svein, or Sweyn, who afterwards was King of Denmark. Earl Ulf was left to act as regent of Denmark during Hardacanute’s childhood; but Queen Emma, the lad’s mother, was ambitious that her son should actually reign, boy though he was. She persuaded Ulf to have him proclaimed an independent king, without the knowledge of his father, Canute. She secretly got hold of the King’s seal and sent it off to Denmark, writing a forged letter, which was supposed to be from King Canute himself, and which she signed with his name, commanding Ulf to have Hardacanute crowned King of Denmark. The earl called together an assembly of the nobles and declared that Canute had commanded him to have Hardacanute crowned king; he produced in proof of this Canute’s seal and the forged letter written by Queen Emma. In consequence of this the nobles consented to take the boy for their king. Just at this moment the news arrived that King Olaf was coming from Norway with a great fleet, and was to be joined by the King of Sweden, as we have related.[45] Ulf and the nobles gathered their troops together and went to Jutland, but they saw that the army coming against them was far too great for them to meet alone so they were forced to send for help to King Canute, fearful as they were as to how he would regard their doings.