also King in Essex, Surrey and Sussex.
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3Æthelstan of Wessex [Note:
Ethel (also æthel) is an Old English word meaning "noble"]
Æthelstan (c. 829 - 851-855) was either the eldest son or younger brother
[1] of King
Æthelwulf of Wessex.
When Æthelwulf became
King of the West Saxons in 839 on the death of his father
Egbert, he appointed Æthelstan to rule over Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex. He is styled king in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and
Æthelweard's chronicle calls him "King of the Dwellers in
Kent, of the
East Saxons, of the
South Saxons and of
Surrey". He attested a number of his father's charters as king in the 840s.
In 851, Æthelstan and
Ealdorman Ealhhere defeated a
Viking fleet and army at
Sandwich, Kent. Ealhhere's death in battle against Vikings is recorded c. 853. Æthelstan is not mentioned after 851 and presumably died before Æthelwulf went to Rome in 855 as he was not included in arrangements for government of the kingdom during his father's absence.