Queen Edith celebrations marking 1,000 years of the Monarch are set to take place in Oakham, and organisers are looking for community support to make the event extraordinary.

The Queen Edith Festival, headed up by the Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, is set to take place at Oakham's All Saints' Church in March 2024, and will take place over a weekend, in which residents will be able to learn about and celebrate the life of the forgotten Queen.

The team behind the upcoming event explained: "Around 1,000 years ago a remarkable woman was born, whose story has largely been forgotten. The daughter of the influential Earl Godwine of Wessex and his Danish wife Gytha, Edith was destined for a royal future as the Queen of one king, Edward the Confessor, and the sister of another king, the ill-fated Harold.

"Over the last few years, we have been exploring the possibility of celebrating Edith's life at All Saints Oakham. Many of our more famous kings and queens are remembered in particular places. Despite being buried in Westminster Abbey, next to Edward the Confessor's impressive shrine, Edith has no such place where her story is told. So why should she be especially remembered in Rutland?

Al Saints' Church is set to host an event to mark 1,000 years of a forgotten Monarch in Rutland. Image credit: Nub News.

"Queen Edith is woven into the history of Rutland as the last Queen to hold many of the manors of our county as her personal possession. Her legacy gently echos down the centuries to the present day, with her name preserved in one of the Rutland villages she held, Edith Weston. Successive Queens in the Anglo-Saxon era were awarded the income from a wide variety of estates and manors in order to fund their household and interests. Rutland was a key part of this dower land, which may explain why it escaped being fully merged into the major counties which were being established around this time."

On Friday 8 March 2024, Year 4 students will, by invitation, explore the connections between Queen Edith, All Saints Oakham, Oakham Castle and the Anglo-Saxon burgh of Oakham.

On Saturday 9th March, a church open day will take place for visitors, including the launch of an illustrated exhibition Royal Rutland – the story of Queen Edith, and accompanying book. There will be displays, activities, crafts, games and special guests.

The team are looking for art to display on their boards for this event. If you have something that you can lend to support them, please contact Paul Wiggin directly by email [email protected].

Finally, on Sunday 10 March at 6pm, a service of celebration to mark 1,000 years since the birth of Queen Edith will take place with a guest speaker.

Can you support the event? Image credit: HM L-L of Rutland.

Rutland's Lord-Lieutenant, Dr Sarah Furness, concluded: "With the help of Pauline Stafford, the leading expert and writer on Queen Edith, we can bring Edith's story to life in time for the 1000thanniversary of Edith's birth, and with Paul Wiggin's artwork and other historic illustrations we can capture something of the transitional Anglo-Saxon and Norman era in which she lived. This will, I hope, add a little more to the historic landscape that we enjoy in our area.

On the weekend of 8-10 March 2024 we will present a fuller interpretation of Edith's life at All Saints Church Oakham, including a genealogy, map of her Rutland landholdings, a contemporary image of her from the Bayeaux Tapestry, and some original artwork based on the later medieval images of her that still exist. This is a developing project to inspire all ages, including local schools.

"Please join us in celebrating Royal Rutland – the story of Queen Edith."