First Time Lucky.

Did you know that Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England for a few weeks in the 11^th century, was married twice? His first wife was called Gunhild of Wenden, and he had seven children with her. His second gloried in the epithet Sigrid the Haughty, and he had only one with her. In the process of wondering why, I came across the following ditty:

Sigrid the Haughty

Was never as naughty

As Gunhild of Wenden had been

When Sweyn became randy

Her tongue came in handy

And said ‘Bugger off. I’m the Queen.’

What’s even odder, though, is that Ethelred the Unready (also a King of England at around the same time) had twelve children. Sounds to me like he should have been called Ethelred the Ever Ready.

I wonder how many children Ivar the Boneless had...