Editing Harthacnut (section)

=== Harold and Denmark ===
In 1035, Harthacnut succeeded his father on the [[Monarchy of Denmark|throne of Denmark]] as Cnut III.<ref name="kongehuset" /> He was unable to come to England in view of the situation in Denmark, and it was agreed that Svein's full brother, Harold Harefoot, should act as regent, with Emma holding Wessex on Harthacnut's behalf. In 1037, Harold was generally accepted as king, Harthacnut being, in the words of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', "forsaken because he was too long in Denmark",{{sfn|Swanton|2000|p=160}} while Emma fled to [[Bruges]], in [[Flanders]]. In 1039, Harthacnut sailed with ten ships to meet his mother in [[Bruges]] but delayed an invasion as it was clear Harold was sick and would soon die, which he did in March 1040. Envoys soon crossed the channel to offer Harthacnut the throne.

While the general outline of events following Cnut's death is clear, the details are obscure, and historians give differing interpretations. The historian M. K. Lawson states that it is unclear whether Harthacnut was to have England as well as Denmark, but it was probably a reflection of a formal arrangement that mints south of the Thames produced silver pennies in his name, while those to the north were almost all Harold's. There might have been a division of the kingdom if Harthacnut had appeared straight away. He probably stayed in Denmark because of the threat from Magnus of Norway, but they eventually made a treaty by which if either died without an heir, his kingdom would go to the other, and this may have freed Harthacnut to pursue his claim to England.{{sfn|Lawson|2004}}

According to Ian Howard, Harthacnut agreed to help Svein recover Norway and planned an invasion in 1036. Svein died shortly before it was to set out, but Harthacnut proceeded anyway. War was avoided by the treaty between Harthacnut and Magnus, which Harthacnut agreed to because he had no plausible candidate to rule Norway after Svein's death, and he was in any case temperamentally inclined to avoid campaigns and wars. Howard dates the treaty to 1036,{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=58–61}} whereas other historians date it to 1039 and believe it freed Harthacnut to launch an invasion of England.{{sfn|Bricka|1893|pp=91–92}}{{sfn|Lund|2017}}

Exiled in Bruges, Emma plotted to gain the English throne for her son. She sponsored the ''Encomium Emmae Reginae'', which eulogised her and attacked Harold, especially for arranging the murder of [[Alfred Aetheling|Alfred Atheling]] (the younger of Emma's two sons by Æthelred) in 1036. The work describes Harthacnut's horror at hearing of his half brother's murder, and in Howard's view, was probably influential in finally persuading the cautious Harthacnut to invade England. According to a later edition of the ''Encomium'', the English took the initiative in communicating with Harthacnut in 1039, possibly when they became aware that Harold had not long to live.{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=105–107}}