by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Note: The first woman to be formally crowned, anointed, and given the title queen during the House of Wessex era was Ælfthryth, who was crowned and anointed alongside her husband, King Edgar the Peaceful, on May 11, 973.
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury was the first of the two wives of Edmund I, King of the English, who reigned from 939 until he was assassinated in 946. Her birth date and parents are uncertain, and her siblings are unknown. A deed of donation from Edgar, Ælfgifu’s son and later King of England, shows that his grandmother and therefore, Ælfgifu’s mother, was called Wynflæd. Wynflæd was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who owned land in Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. She had a connection to Shaftesbury Abbey, founded by Edmund’s grandfather, Alfred the Great, and it is possible she retired there as a widow.
Ælfgifu’s husband Edmund I, King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia
Ælfgifu and Edmund’s wedding date is unknown. Their first son Eadwig was barely of age when he ascended the throne in 955. This suggests a marriage before or around 940.
Ælfgifu and Edmund had two sons:
- Eadwig, King of England (circa 940 – 959), married Ælfgifu, the marriage was annulled, no children
- Edgar the Peaceful, King of England (circa 943 – 975), married (1) Æthelflæd (mistress?), had one child, Edward the Martyr, King of England (2) Saint Wulfthryth (mistress?), had one daughter (3) Ælfthryth, had two sons, including Æthelred II the Unready, King of England
Ælfgifu died circa 944, possibly in childbirth after the birth of her second son, Edgar. She was buried at Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset, England, which was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Abbeys, in the reign of King Henry VIII, and now lies in ruins.
Ælfgifu was venerated as a saint shortly after her death. In the early Middle Ages, sainthood was largely determined by the acclamation of the people, who would spontaneously begin to venerate a particularly holy person after their death. The English historian William of Malmesbury praised Ælfgifu’s charity and wrote that many miracles occurred at her grave. Ælfgifu is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, and her feast day is May 18.
This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.
Works Cited
- Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2022). Königsgemahlin Edmunds I. von England. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfgifu_von_Shaftesbury
- Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Edmund I, King of the English | Unofficial Royalty. Unofficialroyalty.com. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/edmund-i-king-of-the-english/
- Saint Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. (2023). Swords and Sceptres. https://www.swordsandsceptres.co.uk/queens-of-england-15/sainaelfgifuofshaftesbury
- Venning, Timothy. (2013). The Kings & Queens of Anglo-Saxon England. Amberley Publishing Limited.
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
