(died 1035) Son of Sweyn I, Danish king of England (1017–35), Denmark (1018–35), and Norway (1028–35). After Edmund Ironside’s murder in 1016, Canute became king of England, ending a prolonged struggle for the throne. As king, he presided over a period of relative peace. He is most commonly remembered for demonstrating to his fawning courtiers that, contrary to their expectations, he was unable to command the tide to stop rising.