Queen Wulfthryth of Wiltshire

Wulfthryth (sometimes known as Wulfrida) is another Queen consort we unfortunately know precious little about.

Her name is English in origin and she is presumed to be the daughter of an English nobleman. There is an Anglo-Saxon nobleman, Wulfhere, who was the Ealdorman of Wiltshire and, due to the similarity in name, is often believed to have been her brother.

 

Wulfthryth married King Æthelred the Pious, possibly in 868. Æthelred was the first of his name, but before 1066, Kings of England were known by a “nickname” rather than a number.

 

When King Æthelbald died, he had no successor, so the throne passed to his brother, Æthelberht. Æthelberht died unmarried and childless six years later, leaving his brother, Æthelred to succeed him, in 866. This is two years prior to the believed date of Wulfthryth's marriage, meaning that Wulfthryth knew in advance that she was marrying a King and would be a Queen consort.

 

It is also possible, though there is no surviving evidence of this, that she was another consecrated Queen. A charter witnessed in 868 by a “Wulfthryth Regina,” directly before Wulfhere’s signature indicates her prominent presence at court, as well as that of her brother.

Other than this charter, little evidence of Wulfthryth’s existence on this earth is known.

 

Æthelred died in 871 and though he and Wulfthryth had two sons, both of these were passed over in succession, in favour of Æthelred’s brother, Ælfred.

Wulfthryth did not survive her husband, as she died in 970, but her sons were not left alone. Wulfhere was the only Ealdorman of Ælfred’s who openly rebelled against him, defecting to the Vikings. This has been considered as a possible attempt to assert the rights of his nephews, over Ælfred’s, to the throne.

 

And that completes all of the knowledge we have of Wulfthryth. It is upsetting to me that we have so little knowledge of so very many women who came before us. It is a sad fact that chroniclers did not think to include women in most of their works, a mistake which, thankfully, changed over time.