article for April 24, 2019

Article of the day for April 24, 2019 is Æthelberht, King of Wessex.
Æthelberht was the King of Wessex from 860 until his death in 865. He was the third son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife, Osburh. In 855 Æthelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome and appointed Æthelberht as king of the recently conquered territory of Kent. Æthelberht's older brother, Æthelbald, was named king of Wessex. After the deaths of his father in 858 and his brother in 860, Æthelberht ruled both Wessex and Kent without appointing a sub-king, fully uniting the two territories for the first time. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he reigned "in good harmony and in great peace". 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 to 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.