Beowulf rules the Geats after Hygelac and Heardred die.
The Geats are the people Beowulf belongs to and eventually leads as king. Early in the poem, Beowulf serves his maternal uncle Hygelac, the Geatish king. After Hygelac is killed during a raid against the Franks, Beowulf returns to Geatland and supports Hygelac’s young son, Heardred, rather than immediately claiming the throne.
Heardred later dies after becoming involved in a conflict with the Swedish royal house. With the direct succession ended, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats. He rules for many years, and the poem’s final section presents him as an older monarch defending his people against a dragon.
The Geats are easy to confuse with the Danes because Beowulf spends the opening part of the story in Hrothgar’s Danish kingdom. They are distinct groups: Hrothgar rules the Danes, while Beowulf is first a Geatish warrior and later the Geatish king. The poem also describes conflicts involving Swedes and Franks, but neither people is Beowulf’s kingdom.