Ealhmund of Kent

Biography
There is general concensus amount the Anglo-Saxon Chroniclers that Ealhmund of Kent ruled as King of Kent at least in the year 784, when he issued a royal charter and that Egbert of Wessex (c769-839) would become the King of Wessex and the descent of English Royalty traces thru him.

The kingdom of Kent was overrun by the King of Mercia during this time period.

In 784 a new king of Kent, Ealhmund, appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. According to a note in the margin, "this king Ealhmund was Egbert's father (i.e. Egbert of Wessex), Egbert was Æthelwulf's father." This is supported by the genealogical preface from the A text of the Chronicle, which gives Egbert's father's name as Ealhmund without further details. The preface probably dates from the late ninth century; the marginal note is on the F manuscript of the Chronicle, which is a Kentish version dating from about 1100.

Ealhmund does not appear to have long survived in power: there is no record of his activities after 784. There is, however, extensive evidence of Offa's domination of Kent during the late 780s, with his goals apparently going beyond overlordship to outright annexation of the kingdom, and he has been described as "the rival, not the overlord, of the Kentish kings". It is possible that the young Egbert fled to Wessex in 785 or so; it is suggestive that the Chronicle mentions in a later entry that Beorhtric, Cynewulf's successor, helped Offa to exile Egbert.

See also: House of Wessex Family Tree Chart