AElfthryth Queen of England
d. 1000
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Family
About
Ælfthryth (c.945-1000/1) was the first consort known to have been crowned Queen of England, anointed beside Edgar at Bath in 973. Daughter of the Devon ealdorman Ordgar, she was a formidable force in church reform and law; the first known royal patroness-advocate for women's causes at law; and founded Wherwell Abbey, where she died. Later tradition darkly blamed her for the murder of her stepson Edward the Martyr at Corfe in 978, which cleared the throne for her own son Æthelred, our ancestor; the contemporary sources accuse her of nothing.
Research notes
*** UPDATE - READ FIRST (15 Sep 2026): the ascent described below as a floor / end of line / note-only HAS SINCE BEEN WIRED - parents (or father) are now in the tree; see the dated layer at the END of this note for the sources, grades and any loops closed. The opening text is kept as audit trail. *** AELFTHRYTH (c.945-c.1000), queen of Edgar, the first CROWNED QUEEN OF ENGLAND; mother of Aethelred II (our line). The Corfe murder story is later tradition, noted as such. Her father Ordgar, ealdorman of Devon, note-only. (Distinct from AElfthryth of Wessex I99601, Alfred's daughter.) Standard well-documented medieval royal genealogy per the cited authorities; contested rungs note-only, not hardened. || FATHER WIRED 14 Sep 2026: ORDGAR, ealdorman of Devon (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 965 D: Edgar took AElfthryth as queen, 'daughter of Ordgar the ealdorman'). Standard, undisputed.