Æthelbald, King of Wessex

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.