From Exile to First King of England
Egbert (Ecgberht) was a Saxon King, and arguably the first monarch of England. Egbert’s reign lasted from around 802AD until 839AD. Egbert was the first monarch to establish a stable and extensive rule over all of England. Egbert was born in Wessex or Kent in 770AD, He had two children Athelwulf and Athelstan with his wife, Redburga. Athelwulf succeeded his father, Egbert, when he died in 839AD. Egbert is buried in Winchester. Wessex or Kent? I have done a lot of reading on where Egbert was born, there is a lot of disagreement. Some say Wessex others say Kent. The reason this is so debatable is because very little, if anything, is known about his youth. We know that his father was Eahlmund, a short lived ruler of Kent, Eahlmund reigned over Kent between 784AD until 785AD. There is also a claim that he can trace his ancestry back to Cerdic. Cerdic was the founder and first King of Wessex. However this claim was written by scribes of Wessex but not until after Egbe...