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 offer differing interpretations. The historian M. K. Lawson states that it is unclear whether Harthacnut was intended to have England as well as