Early life Æthelbald was the second son of King Æthelwulf and probably of his first wife Osburh, who was the mother of Alfred the Great. As Æthelstan was old enough to be appointed king ten years before Alfred was born in 849, and Æthelbald took part in the battle in 851, some historians argue that it is more likely that the elder children were born to an unrecorded earlier wife. Æthelstan died before his father, but Æthelbald and his three younger brothers were successively kings of Wessex: Æthelbald reigned from 855 to 860, Æthelberht from 860 to 865, Æthelred I from 865 to 871, and Alfred the Great from 871 to 899. Æthelbald is first recorded when he witnessed a charter of his father (S 290) in 840 as filius regis (the king's son). He attested with the same designation in the 840s, to S 300 in 850 as dux filius regis and in the early 850s as dux (ealdorman). In 850 his elder brother Æthelstan defeated a Danish fleet off Sandwich in the first recorded naval battle in English history, but he is not recorded thereafter and probably died soon afterwards. In 851, Æthelwulf and Æthelbald defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Aclea and, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "we have never heard of a greater slaughter of them, in any region, on any one day, before or since". At Easter in 854, Æthelbald and his younger brother Æthelberht attested charters as dux, and in 855 their father went on pilgrimage to Rome and appointed Æthelbald as king of Wessex while Æthelberht became king of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex.
Early life Æthelbald was the second son of King Æthelwulf and probably of his first wife Osburh who was the mother of Alfred the Great As Æthelstan was old enough to be appointed king ten years before Alfred was born in 849 and Æthelbald took part in the battle in 851 some historians argue that it is more likely that the elder children were born to an unrecorded earlier wife Æthelstan died before his father but Æthelbald and his three younger brothers were successively kings of Wessex Æthelbald reigned from 855 to 860 Æthelberht from 860 to 865 Æthelred I from 865 to 871 and Alfred the Great from 871 to 899 Æthelbald is first recorded when he witnessed a charter of his father (S 290) in 840 as filius regis (the king's son) He attested with the same designation in the 840s to S 300 in 850 as dux filius regis and in the early 850s as dux (ealdorman) In 850 his elder brother Æthelstan defeated a Danish fleet off Sandwich in the first recorded naval battle in English history but he is not recorded thereafter and probably died soon afterwards In 851 Æthelwulf and Æthelbald defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Aclea and according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle "we have never heard of a greater slaughter of them in any region on any one day before or since" At Easter in 854 Æthelbald and his younger brother Æthelberht attested charters as dux and in 855 their father went on pilgrimage to Rome and appointed Æthelbald as king of Wessex while Æthelberht became king of Kent Essex Surrey and Sussex