# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/thelbald-king-of-wessex
# Generated: 2026-09-01T17:06:56.649Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/thelbald-king-of-wessex"
name: "Æthelbald, King of Wessex"
slug: "thelbald-king-of-wessex"
description: "A ninth-century Saxon king who seized the throne from his own father when the old man returned from Rome with a child bride — then married her himself."
tagline: "King of Wessex"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Aethelbald.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "835"
deathDate: "860"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           56.72
  momentum:             4.24910071942446
  historical:           22.81619066666667
  currentAttention:     23.60611510791367
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "RISING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Medieval Era"
    slug: "medieval-era"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272157"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald,_King_of_Wessex"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/%C3%86thelbald%2C%20King%20of%20Wessex"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%AB%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF"
    title: "اثلبالد"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF_%D9%88%D8%B3%DA%A9%D8%B3"
    title: "اتلبالد وسکس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etelbald_de_Wessex"
    title: "Etelbald de Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald"
    title: "Æthelbald"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_af_Wessex"
    title: "Æthelbald af Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_(Wessex)"
    title: "Æthelbald (Wessex)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%88%CE%B8%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BC%CF%80%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%BD%CF%84_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%9F%CF%85%CE%AD%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B5%CE%BE"
    title: "Έθελμπαλντ του Ουέσσεξ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald%2C_King_of_Wessex"
    title: "Æthelbald, King of Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelbald_(Wessex)"
    title: "Ethelbald (Wessex)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelbaldo_de_Wessex"
    title: "Ethelbaldo de Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF_%D9%88%D8%B3%DA%A9%D8%B3"
    title: "اتلبالد وسکس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelbald"
    title: "Ethelbald"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_(roi_du_Wessex)"
    title: "Æthelbald (roi du Wessex)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethelbald_de_Wessex"
    title: "Aethelbald de Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%93%2C_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9A_%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%A1"
    title: "אתלבאלד, מלך וסקס"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald"
    title: "Æthelbald"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_wessexi_kir%C3%A1ly"
    title: "Æthelbald wessexi király"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_dari_Wessex"
    title: "Æthelbald dari Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etelbaldo_del_Wessex"
    title: "Etelbaldo del Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A8%E3%82%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%90%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89_(%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%E3%82%BB%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9%E7%8E%8B)"
    title: "エゼルバルド (ウェセックス王)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%94%E1%83%97%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%91%E1%83%90%E1%83%9A%E1%83%93%E1%83%98_(%E1%83%A3%E1%83%94%E1%83%A1%E1%83%94%E1%83%A5%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98)"
    title: "ეთელბალდი (უესექსი)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%A0%EC%84%A4%EB%B3%BC%EB%93%9C"
    title: "애설볼드"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelbald_vu_Wessex"
    title: "Ethelbald vu Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelbald_van_Wessex"
    title: "Ethelbald van Wessex"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86%C3%B0elbald_West-Seaxna_Cyning"
    title: "Æðelbald West-Seaxna Cyning"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Æthelbald was the second of five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, fighting beside his father at the Battle of Aclea in 851 to drive back Viking raiders. When Æthelwulf left on pilgrimage to Rome in 855, he split the kingdom: Æthelbald took Wessex, his younger brother Æthelberht took Kent. The trouble began in 856 when Æthelwulf returned with a twelve-year-old Frankish princess, Judith, as his new queen — and Æthelbald refused to surrender the crown. Whether Wessex was divided between them or Æthelberht stepped aside remains disputed, but when Æthelwulf died in 858 Æthelbald held Wessex and promptly married his young stepmother. Asser, chronicler to Æthelbald's youngest brother Alfred, called it a violation of God and Christian decency, though no contemporary voices seem to have raised alarm. Æthelbald died in 860, the throne passing smoothly to Æthelberht, who reunited Wessex and Kent under one crown for good.