Cathedral bones identified as Alfred the Great granddaughter

Body parts excavated in Magdeburg Cathedral in 2008 are those of Saxon princess Eadgyth, who died more than 1,000 years ago.

They are the oldest surviving remains of an English royal burial, according to experts at the University of Bristol who analysed the skeletal fragments to piece together a snapshot of the princess's life.

Eadgyth was married off to Otto I, the Great, in AD 929 by her half brother Athelstan, who was the first king to rule all of England. As wife of the king of Saxony, she lived most of her married life in Magdeburg, capital of Saxony-Anhalt, and had at least two children.

Eadgyth died in AD 946 aged about 36 and was buried in the monastery of St Maurice in Switzerland.

Her bones were moved at least three times before being finally interred in Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510.

Two years ago, German archaeologists opened the tomb. Inside was a lead box bearing the inscription: "The remains of Queen Eadgyth are in this sarcophagus".

But the challenge facing the archaeologists was to prove that the bones were really those of Queen Eadgyth. Crucial evidence came from the study of teeth preserved in Eadgyth's jaw.