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(King of Wessex) Æthelbert WESSEX #50557

ABT 837 - ABT 865

Personal Information

  • TITLE: King of Wessex
  • BIRTH: ABT 837
  • DEATH: ABT 865, Dorset, England

Notes

Æthelberht (also spelled Ethelbert or Aethelberht) was the King of Wessex from 860 until his death in 865. He was the third son of King Æthelwulf by his first wife, Osburh. Æthelberht was first recorded as a witness to a charter in 854. The following year Æthelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome and appointed his oldest surviving son, Æthelbald, as king of Wessex while Æthelberht became king of the recently conquered territory of Kent. Æthelberht may have surrendered his position to his father when he returned from pilgrimage but resumed (or kept) the south-eastern kingship when his father died in 858.

When Æthelbald died in 860, Æthelberht united both their territories under his rule. He did not appoint a sub-king and Wessex and Kent were fully united for the first time. He appears to have been on good terms with his younger brothers, the future kings Æthelred I and Alfred the Great. The kingdom came under attack from Viking raids during his reign, but these were minor compared with the invasions after his death. Æthelberht died in the autumn of 865 and was buried next to his brother Æthelbald at Sherborne Abbey in Dorset. He was succeeded by Æthelred.

Parents

Father: Æthelwulf WESSEX #50550

Mother: Osburh OSLACSDOTTER #50551

 
 
                                               _Ealhmund of KENT ___
                                              |                     
                        _Egbert WESSEX _______|
                       | (0770 - 0839)        |
                       |                      |_____________________
                       |                                            
 _Æthelwulf WESSEX ___|
| (.... - 0857)        |
|                      |                       _____________________
|                      |                      |                     
|                      |_Redburga of FRANCIA _|
|                                             |
|                                             |_____________________
|                                                                   
|
|--Æthelbert WESSEX 
|  (0837 - 0865)
|                                              _____________________
|                                             |                     
|                       _Oslac UNKNOWN _______|
|                      |                      |
|                      |                      |_____________________
|                      |                                            
|_Osburh OSLACSDOTTER _|
                       |
                       |                       _____________________
                       |                      |                     
                       |______________________|
                                              |
                                              |_____________________

Source References