by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Ælfgifu of York, the first wife of Æthelred II, King of the English, was born circa 963 in Wessex, England. There is little documentation of her life and family background. The monk Ailred of Rievaulx, writing in the 1150s, identified her as the daughter of Thored, Ealdorman of York, who regularly witnessed charters of King Ӕthelred II during the 980s..
Æthelred II, King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia
Marriage to the daughter of an important Northumbrian noble would have greatly benefited King Ӕthelred II by expanding and strengthening his influence in the north of England. The marriage of Æthelred and Ælfgifu is not recorded in the historical sources. Modern historians estimate their wedding date to be in the mid-980s.
Æthelred and Ælfgifu’s son Edmund Ironside, King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia
The known children of Æthelred and Ælfgifu are:
(Note: Ætheling was used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty eligible for the kingship.)
Æthelred II’s mother, Ælfthryth of Devon, Queen of the English, third wife of Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English, was still alive and did not die until 1002. Ælfthryth was an adviser to her son and a force to be reckoned with. Æthelred II’s first wife, Ælfgifu, was never crowned and anointed. Likely, she was never crowned because her mother-in-law, Ælfthryth, the crowned and anointed queen, was still alive. Æthelred II’s second wife, Emma of Normandy, was crowned, but Alfred’s mother, Ælfthryth, was dead by then.
It is likely that Ӕlfgifu’s mother-in-law, Ælfthryth, raised some of her children, including her first-born son Æthelstan. Ӕthelstan died before his father, in June 1014, either killed in battle or from wounds received during the wars against Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England, Denmark, and Norway and his son Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Ælfgifu must have died before April 1002, when Ӕthelred married Emma of Normandy. Her burial site is unknown.
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Works Cited
- Ælfgifu of York. (2025). Geni.com. https://www.geni.com/people/%C3%86lfgifu-of-York/6000000000769920440
- Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2022). Königin von England. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfgifu_von_York
- Flantzer, Susan. (2015). Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English | Unofficial Royalty. Unofficialroyalty.com. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/aethelred-ii-the-unready-king-of-the-english/
- In Search of Ӕlfgifu of York, Ӕthelred II’s First Wife. (2018). History… The Interesting Bits! https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2018/06/30/%d3%95lfgifu-of-york/
- Venning, Timothy. (2013). The Kings & Queens of Anglo-Saxon England. Amberley Publishing Limited.
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Ælfgifu of York. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
