List of royal consorts of Wessex

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The royal consorts of Wessex were the wives of the reigning monarchs of the Kingdom of Wessex. History has not always recorded whether each king of Wessex was married or not. In Wessex it was not customary for kings' wives to be queens but Judith was crowned queen following her marriage to Æthelwulf. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 AD until England was unified by Æthelstan (who never married) in 927 AD.

PictureNameParentsBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Seaxburh (possibly)no earlier than c. 642645c. 674 Cenwalh
Cynewise (possibly)no earlier than 645no later than 648 Penda
Seaxburh no earlier than 648672
Thereafter ruled in her own right
c. 674 Cenwalh
Not reliably recorded. Possibly a sister of Queen Iurminburh.no earlier than c. 676no later than c. 686 Centwine
Cynethrythno earlier than 685no later than 688 Cædwalla
Æthelburg c. 688726 Ine
Frithugyth no earlier than 726no later than 740 Æthelheard
Eadburh Father, King Offa of Mercia
Mother, Queen Cynethryth
before 788no earlier than 786802 Beorhtric
Unknown
Late recording as Redburga but name is of doubtful historicity
no earlier than 802no later than 839 Egbert
Queen Osburga reads for her son, Alfred.gif Osburh Father, Oslacbefore 839839no later than 856 Æthelwulf
Judith of Flanders in the Flandria illustrata.png Judith Father, Charles the Bald
Mother, Ermentrude of Orléans
October 8441 October 85613 January 858
Husband's death
after 870
858860
Æthelbald
Wulfthryth Period 865 to 868not after 871 Ethelred I
Ealhswith Father, Æthelred Mucil.
Mother, Eadburh
86823 April 87126 October 8995 December 905 Alfred the Great
Ælfflæd Father, Æthelhelm circa 901late 910safter 910 Edward the Elder
Picture of Queen Ediva in Canterbury Cathedral (detail).png Eadgifu Father, Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kentbefore 904circa 91917 July 924after 965

See also

References

  1. Janet L. Nelson, Æthelwulf, Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
  2. Williams et al., A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain
  3. Stafford 1981, pp. 139–42; Story 2003, pp. 240–42.

Bibliography