• General Notes

  Ruled 23 April 725-748 (retired); returned c754-62. Despite the apparent length of his reign, little is known about him. On the death of WIHTRED the kingdom of Kent was divided between his three sons and Athelbert ruled jointly with his brother EADBERT and half-brother EALRIC. Nothing more is heard of Ealric, and it seems that whilst Athelbert was the eldest and remained the senior king, Eadbert ruled west Kent, and Athelbert east Kent, with the rich lands around Canterbury. Eadbert tried once to usurp his authority in 738, but this was soon suppressed. However, by about 748, Athelbert seems to have retired from public affairs, leaving the government of Kent to Eadbert and his son EARDWULF. This suggests that whilst Athelbert was initially a resolute king, in later years he tired of the demands and retired to his estates. He reappeared briefly in 762 to authorise a charter, but apparently died later that year when he was in his late sixties. The fact that Athelbert's reign can appear so uneventful, even to the point of his retirement, is testament to the isolation of Kent, even during the period when ATHELBALD of Mercia claimed overlordship of all southern England. Athelbert may have acknowl-edged this out of prudence, but Athelbald's impact on Kent appears to have been negligible. It was his successor, OFFA, who would have the more significant effect. There is no record that Athelbert married and he retired almost certainly in the belief that the dynasty would continue through his nephew Eardwulf.

Details of Aethelbert's family