Harold Harefoot (c1015 - 1040). Harold I, also known as Harold Harefoot, was King of England from 1035 to 1040. Harold's nickname Harefoot is first recorded as Harefoh or Harefah in the twelfth century in the history of Ely Abbey, and according to late medieval chroniclers it meant that he was fleet of foot. The son of Cnut the Great and Aelfgifu of Northampton, Harold was elected regent of England following the death of his father in 1035. He initially ruled England in place of his brother Harthacnut, who was stuck in Denmark due to a rebellion in Norway which had ousted their brother Svein. Although Harold had wished to be crowned king since 1035, Aethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to do so. It was not until 1037 that Harold, supported by earl Leofric and many others, was officially proclaimed king. The same year, Harold's two step-brothers Edward and Alfred returned to England with a considerable military force. Alfred was captured by Earl Godwin, who had him seized and delivered to an escort of men loyal to Harefoot. While en route to Ely, he was blinded and soon after died of his wounds. Harold died in 1040, having ruled just five years; his half-brother Harthacnut soon returned and took hold of the kingdom peacefully. Harold was originally buried in Westminster, but Harthacnut had his body dragged up and thrown into a fen, as well as then thrown into the river Thames, but it was after a short time picked up by a fisherman, immediately taken to the Danes, and honourably buried by them in their cemetery at London. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Harold said that he was a son of Cnut the Great and Aelfgifu of Northampton, although it was not true. Florence of Worcester elaborates on the subject. Claiming that Aelfgifu wanted to have a son by the king but was unable to, she secretly adopted the newborn children of strangers and pretended to have given birth to them. Harold was reportedly the son of a cobbler, while his brother Svein Knutsson was the illegitimate son of a priest. She deceived Cnut into recognizing both children as his own. Harriet O'Brien doubts that Cnut, the shrewd politician who masterminded the bloodless takeover of Norway could have been deceived in such a way. She suspects that the tale started out as a popular myth, or intentional defamation presumably tailored by Emma of Normandy, the other wife of Cnut and rival to Aelfgifu. Upon the death of Cnut on 12 November 1035, Harold's younger half-brother Harthacnut, the son of Cnut and his queen Emma of Normandy, was the legitimate heir to the thrones of both the Danes and the English. Harthacnut, however, was unable to travel to his coronation in England because his Danish kingdom was under threat of invasion by King Magnus I of Norway and King Anund Jacob of Sweden. England's magnates favored the idea of installing Harold Harefoot temporarily as regent or joint monarch, due to the difficulty of Harthacnut's absence, and despite the opposition of Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, and the Queen, he eventually wore the crown. There is some dispute in primary sources about Harold's initial role. Versions E and F mention him as regent, the others as co-ruler. Ian Howard points out that Cnut had been survived by three sons: Svein, Harold, and Harthacnut. The Encomium Emmae Reginae also describes Edward the Confessor and Alfred Aetheling as the sons of Canute, though the modern term would be step-sons. Harold could claim the regency or kingship because he was the only one of the five present in England in 1035. Harthacnut was reigning in Denmark, and Svein had joined him there following his deposition from the Norwegian throne, while Edward and Alfred were in Normandy. Harold could reign in the name of his absent brothers, with Emma rivaling him as a candidate for the regency. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ignores the existence of Svein, or his claim to the throne, which Howard considers as evidence of the relative entries being unreliable, of failing to give a complete picture. The Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson claims that Svein and Harthacnut had agreed to share the kingdom between them. This agreement would include Denmark and England. Snorri quotes older sources on the subject and could be preserving valuable details. Harold reportedly sought coronation as early as 1035. According to the Encomium Emmae Reginae, however, Aethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to crown Harold Harefoot. Coronation by the Archbishop would be a legal requirement to become a king. Aethelnoth reportedly placed the sceptre and crown on the altar of a temple, possibly that of the Canterbury Cathedral. Offering to consecrate Harold without using any of the royal regalia would have been an empty honour.