We should get a bank holiday for England’s forgotten king, campaigners say

Campaigners say the public holiday should be celebrated for our forgotten king.

England was first united under King Aethelstan in 927 AD, and this year marks the 1,100th anniversary of his coronation as England’s first ruler. represents the year.

Despite his remarkable achievements, his name has faded from public memory as most school curricula have chosen to teach English history since the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066.

Historians and MPs are now calling for the forgotten king to be commemorated by the introduction of a new public holiday.

He not only united several different kingdoms to create England, but also established a deep and complex relationship with mainland Europe, encouraging European scholars to visit England.

England was formally united at Eamont’s Bridge in Cumbria on 12 July 927.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘1,100th anniversary of the birth of England. I think the anniversary definitely deserves a bank holiday.’

Davey also said how important it was that mainstream debate brought patriotism back to the fore around British history.

King Aethelstan also set trends by becoming the first British monarch to wear a crown, a tradition that continues today.

MP Alex Burghart, who backed historians’ calls for a memorial, said Aethelstan was ‘right at the top’ of British monarchs.

“Aethalstan is the combination of a great ruler and a great warrior, and he succeeds in cementing the legacy of his grandfather Alfred by creating a United Kingdom of English speakers,” Burghart said.

Born around AD 894, he was the next in this line of kings and continued the family tradition of expanding the kingdom.

He was the grandson of perhaps the most famous king of the early medieval period, Alfred the Great.

Alfred was known for his wars with the Vikings and his decisive defeat of the Danes in the 9th century.

Within three years of his accession to the throne, Aethelstan conquered the Danish king Sihtric, who ruled the Viking York, and thus established the first central government, taking the title Rex Anglorum, meaning King of the English.

He reversed the decline of the church, managed to persuade the Welsh and Scottish kings to accept his authority, and suppressed a major Viking uprising at the Battle of Brunanburh in AD 937.

Government says it has no intention of introducing bank holidays in 2027 to celebrate the birth of England

Aethelstan was the grandson of Alfred the Great, perhaps the most famous king of the early medieval period.

In the battle, he defeated an alliance of Vikings, Scots, and Strathclyde Welsh who attempted to challenge his rule in England.

Aethelstan gave his new kingdom a cosmopolitan flair.

The newly formed kingdom of England was an outward-looking society with a coherent foreign policy, and there was much cultural diversity in the area we call England today.

Sir Ed said he was campaigning for Anglo-Saxon history to remain in the A-level school curriculum while the Government considered removing it.

‘In my view, the Anglo-Saxon legacy lives on and in many ways the history of Norman England is borrowed from what the Anglo-Saxon kings established,’ he added.

However, according to the Telegraph, the Government stated that it does not intend to have a public holiday in 2027 to celebrate the birth of England.

Kate Dinn from the Ministry of Business and Trade explained that although there are many important moments in history that they would like to commemorate with a public holiday, it is not possible to commemorate them all.

After confirming that there were no plans to hold a public holiday in Aethelstan’s honour, he jokingly added that he hoped Aethelstan would not return like the ghost of Christmas past.