The remains of one of the oldest members of the English royal family are thought to have been found in a cathedral in Germany.

They belong to Eadgyth, grand-daughter of Alfred the Great, who was born in 910 and died in 946 at the age of 36.

Eadgyth was also the sister of King Athelstan and therefore an important pawn in the politics games of the time.

She was married off strategically to Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor in 929 with whom she lived in Saxony and had at least two children.

On her death, she was buried in Magdeburg, and her tomb was marked in the Cathedral by an elaborate sixteenth century monument.

The tomb was first investigated in 2008 but it was thought that it was most likely to be a monument. It was only when the lid was taken off that a lead coffin was discovered bearing the Queen's name and giving details of the transfer of her remains in 1510.

Inside the coffin, a nearly complete female skeleton aged between 30 and 40 was found, wrapped in silk.