Legend claims that princess died in millstream

A long‑standing Sussex legend claims that a young daughter of King Cnut, the 11th Century ruler of England, Denmark and Norway, drowned in a West Sussex millstream.

The story, woven into local tradition for centuries, remains one of the oldest mysteries associated with the village of Bosham and its ancient church, Holy Trinity.

Canon Martin Lane, vicar of the church, told Secret Sussex: "In 1856, a predecessor of mine decided to put this theory to the test and arranged for excavation to take place.

"They found three graves and one of them was a young child."

Lane believes there is "every possibility" that the skeleton belongs to Cnut's daughter, but it would be impossible to prove without forensic testing.

Cnut, who reigned from 1016 to 1035, was known to have had a residence in Bosham.

The church itself is one of the oldest in Sussex, with Saxon origins and strong royal associations.

Vicar Kenneth McDermott, who was in charge from 1902 to 1915, decided that a tile bearing a raven was not an adequate memorial for the young girl, so the children of Bosham helped to contribute to a more suitable memorial to be placed beside the tile.

In the chancel in the church, there is a stone effigy of a child, which is "thought to represent the little princess", added Lane.

However, this was not installed until the rein of King Edward (1272-1307), more than 200 years later.

The millstream still runs through Bosham and visitors to the church are often drawn to the simple stone slab marking the child's grave.

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