<P> Arguments are made for a few different kings deemed to control enough of the ancient kingdoms of the Anglo - Saxons to be deemed the first King of England . For example , Offa , king of Mercia , and Egbert , king of Wessex , are sometimes described as kings of England by popular writers , but not by all historians . In the late eighth century Offa achieved a dominance over southern England that did not survive his death in 796 . In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia , but he soon lost control of it . By the late ninth century Wessex was the dominant Anglo - Saxon kingdom . Its king , Alfred the Great , was overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons , but he never ruled eastern and northern England , which was then the Danelaw . His son Edward the Elder conquered the eastern Danelaw , but Edward 's son Æthelstan became the first king to rule the whole of England when he conquered Northumbria in 927 , and he is regarded by some modern historians as the first king of England . </P>
<P> Arguments are made for a few different kings deemed to control enough of the ancient kingdoms of the Anglo - Saxons to be deemed the first King of England . For example , Offa , king of Mercia , and Egbert , king of Wessex , are sometimes described as kings of England by popular writers , but not by all historians . In the late eighth century Offa achieved a dominance over southern England that did not survive his death in 796 . In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia , but he soon lost control of it . By the late ninth century Wessex was the dominant Anglo - Saxon kingdom . Its king , Alfred the Great , was overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons , but he never ruled eastern and northern England , which was then the Danelaw . His son Edward the Elder conquered the eastern Danelaw , but Edward 's son Æthelstan became the first king to rule the whole of England when he conquered Northumbria in 927 , and he is regarded by some modern historians as the first king of England . </P>
who was the first known king of england
who was the first known king of england
Egbert
Egbert