by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Ecgwynn’s husband, Edward the Elder, King of the Anglo-Saxons; Credit – Wikipedia
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.
Ecgwynn was the first of the three wives of Edward the Elder, King of the Anglo-Saxons, who reigned from 899 to 924. Edward was not called “the Elder” during his lifetime. At the end of the tenth century, “the Elder” was added to his name to distinguish him from King Edward the Martyr. Edward was the elder of the two sons and the second of the five known children of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons, and his wife Ealhswith of Mercia. Ecgwynn was born circa 874, most likely in the Kingdom of Wessex
Around 893, Edward married Ecgwynn, and they had two children. Edward had a total of seven daughters from his three marriages. He was unwilling to marry his daughters to his own subjects, so they either became nuns or married foreign husbands.
Ecgwynn’s husband Edward was a child throughout the wars his father fought with the Danes, and was more of a soldier than a scholar, like his father. By 892, he was commanding part of the Anglo-Saxon army, and when his father died in 899, the Anglo-Saxons were prepared to accept him as their leader. Edward was crowned on June 8, 900, by Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Kingston-upon-Thames, where the ancient coronation stone can still be seen. It can not be certain that Ecgwynn was alive when her husband became King of the Anglo-Saxons. However, it was customary at that time that wives were not given the title of queen.
Ecgwynn’s death date is circa 901, and Edward the Elder married his second wife, Ælfflæd, circa 899. Ecgwynn was possibly set aside so Edward could marry Ælfflæd or died, possibly in childbirth. She probably died in Wessex, England, and she may have been buried at Winchester Cathedral.
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
- Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Edmund II Ironside, King of the English | Unofficial Royalty. Unofficialroyalty.com. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/edmund-ii-ironside-king-of-the-english/
- Geni.com. (2025) Ecgwynn. https://www.geni.com/people/Ecgwynn/6000000000623242565
- Venning, Timothy. (2013). The Kings & Queens of Anglo-Saxon England. Amberley Publishing Limited.
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Ecgwynn. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
