King Ethelbert (860 – 866) King of Wessex

Name: Æthelberht of Wessex
Born: c.834
Parents: Aethelwulf and Osburh
Relation to Elizabeth II: 32nd great-granduncle
House of: Wessex
Became King: 860
Crowned: 860 at Kingston-upon-Thames
Children: 2 sons Aldhelm, Aethelweard
Died: 866
Buried at: Sherbourne
Succeeded by: his brother Aethelred

Æthelberht (or Ethelbert; Old English: Æþelberht, meaning “Magnificent Noble”) was the King of Wessex from 860 to 865. He was the third son of Æthelwulf of Wessex and his first wife, Osburh. In 855 he became under-king of Kent while his father, Æthelwulf, visited Rome. His brother Æthelbald was left in charge of the West Saxons. After his father’s death in 858 he succeeded him as king of Kent and the other eastern parts of the kingdom. When Æthelbald died childless in 860, the kingship of the West Saxons also passed to Æthelberht.

Became king of Wessex on the death of his brother Aethelbald. During his reign the Danes returned and soon after his accession a Danish army landed either via the Thames or on the south coast and advanced as far as Winchester before two contingents of Saxons defeated them. Towards the end of his reign a more organized force arrived under the command of Ragnar Lodbrok. His fleet had been attacking the east coast of England, particularly Northumbria, and in the winter of 864/5 they stayed in Thanet. Although the Saxons made a pact with them, the Danes plundered east Kent, before advancing back up the east coast. Æthelberht died in 866

Credits:
http://www.britroyals.com/
Wikipedia