List of monarchs of East Anglia facts for kids
The Kingdom of East Anglia, also known as the Kingdom of the East Angles, was a small independent kingdom in early England. It covered the areas we now call Norfolk and Suffolk, and possibly parts of The Fens. This kingdom was one of the seven main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that existed before England became a single country.
For a long time, from the 500s until 749, the East Angles were ruled by the Wuffingas family. This family got its name from Wuffa, whose name means 'descendants of the wolf'. The last king of East Anglia was Guthrum II in the 900s.
After 749, the kings of East Anglia are less known. Sometimes, they were under the control of the powerful kings of Mercia, another Anglo-Saxon kingdom. East Anglia briefly became independent again in 796 after the death of Offa of Mercia. But Mercia soon took control once more under its new king, Coenwulf.
Between 826 and 869, the East Angles fought for their freedom again. They revolted, and the Mercian king, Beornwulf, was killed. This allowed East Anglia to be independent for a while. However, in 869, a large Danish army invaded. They defeated and killed the last native East Anglian king, Edmund the Martyr. After this, the kingdom came under Danish rule and became part of an area called the Danelaw.
In 918, the Danish rulers of East Anglia accepted the authority of Edward the Elder of Wessex. This meant East Anglia then became part of the growing Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England.
Historians often find it hard to know the exact dates for when the East Anglian kings ruled. Many dates are based on calculations and can be uncertain. For example, after King Eorpwald was murdered, there was a three-year period when it's not clear if anyone ruled the East Angles. Most of what we know about the early kings comes from a book called Ecclesiastical History of the English People by a monk named Bede.
Kings of East Anglia: A Timeline
This table shows the kings who ruled East Anglia. Some of the earliest rulers are "possible" kings because there isn't much information about them.
| Timeline | Family | Years Ruled | King | Important Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Wuffingas | Died 571 | Wehha | Possibly the first ruler of the East Angles. | |
| 571–578 | Wuffa | Son of Wehha. The Wuffingas family is named after him. | ||
| Began ruling 578 | Tytila | Son of Wuffa. | ||
| Began ruling around 616, died before 627 | Rædwald | Son of Tytila. He was a very powerful king, sometimes called a "Bretwalda" (a leading ruler among Anglo-Saxon kings). He is the first Wuffingas king we know a lot about. | ||
| Died 627 or 628 | Eorpwald | Son of Rædwald. He was murdered. | ||
| Around 627 to 630 | Ricberht | Possibly ruled after Eorpwald's murder. | ||
| Began ruling around 630 | Sigeberht | Possibly Rædwald's son. He later left the throne to live a religious life, but was killed in battle in 637. | ||
| Began ruling around 630 (ruled with Sigeberht) | Ecgric | A relative of Sigeberht. He was killed in battle, possibly in 641. | ||
| Early 640s to around 653 | Anna | Nephew of Rædwald. He was killed. | ||
| Around 653 to 655 | Æthelhere | Brother of Anna. He was killed in the Battle of the Winwaed. | ||
| 655 to 663 | Æthelwold | Brother of Anna. | ||
| 663 to 713 | Ealdwulf | Nephew of Anna, Æthelhere, and Æthelwold. | ||
| 713 to 749 | Ælfwald | Son of Ealdwulf. | ||
| East Anglian family | Ruled in 749 | Beonna, Alberht and possibly Hun | These kings ruled together. We don't know much about their family background. | |
| Unknown | Æthelred I | Possibly ruled after Beonna. He was the father of Æthelberht II. | ||
| Possibly 779 to 794 | Æthelberht II | He was able to make his own coins, which shows East Anglia was independent. He was killed by Offa. | ||
| Mercian family | Offa | Ruled Mercia from 757 to 796. He controlled East Anglia. | ||
| East Anglian family | Around 796 to 800 | Eadwald | Became king during a time of change after Offa's death. | |
| Mercian family | Coenwulf | Ruled Mercia from 796 to 821. He took control of East Anglia after Eadwald's short rule. | ||
| Ceolwulf | Brother of Coenwulf. Ruled Mercia from 821 to 823. | |||
| Beornwulf | Ruled Mercia from 823 to 826. He was killed during a revolt by the East Angles. | |||
| East Anglian Family | 827 to 845 | Æthelstan | May have led the revolt against Mercia in 825. East Anglia became independent again when he became king. | |
| Around 845 to 855 | Æthelweard | |||
| 855 to 869 | Edmund (Eadmund) | Son of Æthelweard. He was the last native East Anglian king. He became king at 14. He was killed by the Vikings in 869 and later became a saint. | ||
| Kings under Norse control | Around 869 to 875 | Oswald | A king who ruled under Viking control. We only know about him from coins. | |
| Around 875 to 878 | Æthelred II | Another king who ruled under Viking control, known only from coins. | ||
| Danish Kingdom of East Anglia | Around 878 to 890 | Guthrum | East Anglia was given to him in 878 as part of a peace treaty with Alfred the Great of Wessex. | |
| 890 to 902 | Eohric | Killed in battle in December 902. | ||
| 902 | Æthelwold | A sub-king of the Danes. Killed in battle in December 902. | ||
| 902 to 917 | Guthrum II | The Danish rulers of East Anglia accepted Edward the Elder's authority in 917. Guthrum II was killed in battle in 918. |
