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The Tudors, especially Henry VIII, loom especially large in British consciousness today.  Henry’s story has everything our society wants: sex, money and celebrity — the ultimate historical

soap opera.  No matter what happens in the next few years, post-Brexit Britain will be a country which needs to be revived and rejuvenate.  It’s not Henry and his six wives, but Alfred the

Great who gives us lessons on how this can be done. Alfred was the King of Wessex who laid the foundations for his son and grandson to create a united England and, ultimately, Great Britain.

  With three older brothers, who died in a series of unfortunate events, Alfred was never meant to rule.  He therefore spent a childhood dedicated to education, not the traditional warcraft

expected of heirs to the throne.  He twice went to Rome, where he was confirmed and made a consul by Pope Leo IV, and spent time at the court of Charles the Bald, the King of the Franks. 

His reign embraced outside influences from all over Western Europe, which helped him to defeat the threat of the Vikings. Alfred was the first English ruler since the Romans to govern mainly

by means of written communications.  Literacy was a minority pursuit outside of monasteries and cathedrals, and literate monarchs were rare: a king was meant to hold a sword not a quill.  

Alfred understood that information technology — books, letters, laws, contracts — would give him the ability to stay ahead of his illiterate enemies and to rule his subjects effectively. The

fable of him “burning the cakes” is born of a man deep in thought. Through communication and information, Alfred became the great organiser of his day.  He created a taxation system, which

meant money could be invested into infrastructure projects including docks and transportation systems.  This was all done to generate wealth so more money could be poured into military

modernisation, such as the creation of a functioning navy and the Borough (or fort) system of local government.  Modernisation, underpinned by organisation, was used to protect the

population and ward off enemies.  Alfred, and the house of Wessex after him, understood that there had to be unity within the Isles of Britain.  The idea of “England” emerged during his

reign.  Alfred started to unite the Saxon kingdoms by pulling together common histories, traditions and religion. His son, Edward, built on his legacy and his grandson, Athelstan, became the

first undisputed King of England and even took the title Rex Britannia, or King of the Britons.  The Victorians saw Alfred as a warlord who created a kingdom which founded an empire.  

However, it wasn’t war which created his legacy, it was organisation and negotiation to create good government. Unifying the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia took soft power and diplomacy. 

Alfred created England, but also negotiated the Vikings into a pen known as Danelaw which could be beaten over time.  He understood England as an evolution not revolution. Our Editor, Daniel

Johnson, has just welcomed his first grandchild into the world. His name is Alfred, known as Freddie. The baby’s mother is Marianna Nikodem, interior designer and co-founder of Passion for

Freedom, and his father is our contributor, Tycho Johnson. I hope this child grows up in a country which embodies the spirit of Alfred the Great. That spirit embodies innovation, education

and communication for a nation which is outward-facing, confident, and able to stand up to aggressors. Alfred’s Wessex acted as a unifying beacon for the rest of Britain. I hope the country

in which Alfred Johnson and the rest of his generation grows up acts as a beacon to the rest of the world for all that is best about liberal democracy. It is an idea which can be traced back

to Alfred the Great and those early days of Anglo-Saxon unity.