Little is known about his reign as an Anglo Saxon King but it is believed he was a weak character, who had been entrusted to hold the Crown as regent for his his half-brother Harthacnut (by Cnut’s marriage to Emma, Ethelreds widow.)  But in 1037 with conspiracy of his mother and a group of nobles he seized the crown.  His father was Cnut (Canute. )Yet again the succession following a period of strong leadership was poorly planned.