 According to late hagiographical materials, he was a brother-in-law of Wulfhere.The monks of Saint Peter's Minster, Chertsey, revered Frithuwald, whom they considered the founder of their monastery, as a saint.While it has been argued that Frithuwald was a native ruler of Surrey, the consensus view makes Frithuwald a Mercian or Middle Anglian appointed by Wulfhere to rule over Surrey.