Queen Elfrida, stepmother of Edward headed a party and contested his accession to the throne. But St. Dunstan and others supported Edward and he was confirmed by the Witan and crowned King.

King Edward "was a young man of great devotion and excellent conduct. He was completely Orthodox, good and of holy life. Moreover, he loved above all things God and the Church. He was generous to the poor, a haven to the good, a champion of the Faith of Christ, a vessel full of every virtuous grace."

Not long after Edward became King of England there was a great famine througout the land and there were violent attacks against monasteries by noblemen who coveted the lands which King Edgar had given them. They destroyed the monasteries and forced the monks to flee. King Edward stood with archbishop Dunstan and defended the Church and monasteries which caused the nobles to decide to remove him and make his brother Ethelred the King.