The Inaugural King of England- Unveiling the Timeline of Monarchical Beginnings
When was the first king of England? This question often piques the interest of history enthusiasts and casual learners alike. The history of England is rich and complex, with numerous monarchs who have shaped the country’s destiny over the centuries. Determining the first king of England requires a journey through the annals of time, delving into the early history of the British Isles.
The term “England” itself did not exist in the early medieval period. Instead, the region that would become England was known as Anglo-Saxon England, inhabited by various tribes, including the Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Frisians. The first monarch to be recognized as the king of a unified England was King Æthelstan, who reigned from 927 to 939 AD. However, Æthelstan was not the first king of the English people, as his reign was a continuation of the earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
To trace the roots of English kingship, we must look back to the 5th century when the Anglo-Saxons began to settle in the British Isles. The first known king of the Anglo-Saxons was Æthelberht, who ruled the kingdom of Kent from 560 to 616 AD. Æthelberht’s reign marked the beginning of a long line of Anglo-Saxon monarchs, but he was not the first king of England, as his kingdom was just one of several in what would become England.
The process of unification under a single king began in the 9th century when Alfred the Great, the king of Wessex, defeated the Vikings and secured the south of England. Alfred’s son, Æthelred the Unready, continued the process of unification, but it was his great-grandson, King Æthelstan, who finally achieved a degree of political unity by subjugating the remaining Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and being crowned as the first king of England in 927 AD.
The reign of Æthelstan was a significant moment in English history, as it laid the foundation for the future kingdom of England. His legacy includes the establishment of the first English Parliament and the expansion of English territory, which would eventually lead to the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the beginning of the Angevin period. Thus, when we ask about the first king of England, the answer is King Æthelstan, who united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and became the first king to be recognized as the ruler of England.
