Queen Ælfflæd of Wiltshire

The second consort of Eadweard the Elder was named Ælfflæd and she had married the King within months of his accession to the throne.

Ælfflæd is said to have been the daughter of the Ealdorman of Wiltshire, Æthelhelm. He was quite prominent at the time, as he was the youngest son of King Æthelred the Pious and his wife, Queen Wulfthryth.

 

However, this lineage has been disputed by some historians as this would have made Ælfflæd and her future husband, Eadweard, 1st cousins, once removed.

While marriages between cousins was not unheard of, it was still frowned upon, and in most cases altogether forbidden, by the church.

The Roman church in Anglo-Saxon England did not hold quite as much sway over the people as it would in centuries to come, but the people of England were still predominantly Christian and the church laws were generally obeyed.

On the other hand it is entirely possible, if Ælfflæd was indeed the daughter of Ealdorman Æthelhelm, that Eadweard chose specifically to marry her in order to neutralise the rising support for the rebellion of Æthelwold, who would have been Ælfflæd's uncle.

 

Either way, the marriage, which took place around 899, was considered legitimate and more so than Eadweard's last. This can be seen in the fact that on 8th June 900, Ælfflæd shared Eadweard's coronation and was consecrated as Queen. In addition, when she gave birth to her first son, Ælfweard, he was named as heir to Wessex, over Eadweard's surviving son by his previous wife, Ecgwynn.

His eldest surviving son from his first marriage, Æthelstan, was named as heir of the smaller Kingdom of Mercia, something which he was not willing to settle for.

 

There is not much known about Ælfflæd personally we know that, like most English Queens, she was a pious woman. As such, she commissioned several embroideries to adorn the tomb of St. Cuthbert. Other than time spent in prayer, Ælfflæd was mostly taken up with childbearing and raising her daughters. Four of these daughters were married off to foreign Kings and Princes, making prestigious marriages. Ælfflæd's youngest two daughters were given to the church and both became Abbesses.

 

Ælfflæd and Eadweard were married for around 18 years and during that time, Ælfflæd gave birth to eight children who survived to adulthood, though there may have been more who did not survive. When you consider the high mortality rate of the time, especially in infants, it is likely that Ælfflæd would have been pregnant and given birth at least once a year.

 

Politically, Ælfflæd had no role in the court, though her name can be seen on a single charter, dating from 901.

 

In 919, Ælfflæd's marriage came to an end. She had given her husband an heir and a spare, as well as six daughters with which he could make vital alliances, however, Eadweard decided to repudiate the marriage so that he could wed another. Ælfflæd was sent to a nunnery, as most repudiated Queens were, and she became a nun. She did manage to retain possession of her estates, however, so it is possible that she did not take the full vows. She took her youngest two daughters, Ædflæd and Æthelhild, with her to the convent at Wilton Abbey.

 

Five years later, on 17th July 924, King Eadweard died, leaving Ælfflæd's eldest surviving son, Ælfweard, as the heir to the Kingdom. Ælfflæd's reaction to the news of the death of the man she had spent almost two decades of her life with is not recorded. What we do know is that she supported her son's claims to the throne.

Unfortunately, a mere 16 days later, on 2nd August 924, Ælfweard followed his father to the grave, aged about 20/21. This left Æthelstan as the sole heir, but Ælfflæd's youngest son, Edwin, rebelled against him in an attempt to assert his own rights to the throne. It is believed that Ælfflæd also supported Edwin's claim to the throne, but there is no surviving evidence of this. The fact that Æthelstan was not officially recognised and proclaimed as King of Wessex until 4th September 925 suggests that there was some base of support for Edwin. Not to forget that, while Æthelstan was the eldest son of King Eadweard, Edwin was the eldest surviving son of Eadweard's only consecrated Queen. As such, his claim to the throne would have been seen as stronger by some.

 

Alas, Edwin died in 933 after mysteriously drowning at sea. Though the mystery was never solved, the most prominent theory is that he was murdered on Æthelstan's orders, in order to secure the latter's seat on the throne.

With the death of her only remaining son, Ælfflæd lost any hope she may have harboured of being able to leave the nunnery. Given her pious nature, she may have chosen to remain there in retirement even if Ælfweard or Edwin had successfully succeeded as King.

 

There is no recorded date for Ælfflæd's death, but it is known that she and her youngest two daughters remained at Wilton Abbey until their deaths and were all buried there.