Æthelflæd of Damerham

Æthelflæd of Damerham did not get much time to make an impression as Queen Consort of England, but she does tell us something about the status of women in the law in Anglo-Saxon times.

Listen to her podcast episode here or read on to find out more.

Saint Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury

Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury was the first consort of King Edmund I of England, and while her impact on the historical record was limited in life, in death she achieved the lucrative status of sainthood. We look at who the real Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury was and how and why she came to become a saint.

Listen to her podcast episode here or read on to find out more.

Eadgifu of Kent

Although by no means a famous name today, Eadgifu of Kent is the first of the Wessex consorts to have been a major figure at court and she enjoyed great influence for half a century. Interestingly, however, it was not as the king’s wife but as the king’s mother (and even grandmother) that Eadgifu was to demonstrate the potential power that consorts could wield.

Listen to her podcast episode here or read on to find out more.

Ælfflæd

Ælfflæd was the second of Edward the Elder’s three wives and, although the longest serving of Edward’s wives, is a good example of the vulnerability of Saxon consorts. We take a look at her time as consort and then her efforts to have a role in the succession and the significance of consorts in this process.

Listen to her podcast episode here or read on to find out more.

Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians

Æthelflæd was one of the most remarkable figures of the Anglo-Saxon period who played a crucial role in the creation of the nation of England. The daughter of Alfred the Great, consort and then ruler in Mercia, she worked with her brother, Edward the Elder, to defeat the Vikings and brought up Athelstan, who would finish the job of unifying the Anglo-Saxon people under one nation.

Listen to her podcast episode here or read on to find out more.

Ealhswith

The first of the English consorts, Ealhswith, was married to Alfred the Great for over thirty years and yet we know very little about her. Not only is she an obscure figure but she was also only a consort, never actually queen. We take a look at what we do know about Ealhswith, why we don’t know more and why she was never dubbed ‘Queen Ealhswith’.

Listen to her podcast episode here or read on to find out more.

Scoring the Consorts

Series 3 of Rex Factor is now underway, reviewing all the Queen and Prince Consorts of England from Ealhswith to Prince Philip. A lot of people have asked whether we would be changing the traditional factors by which we scored the monarchs in the first two series, so we’ve provided a summary of how we will be approaching the consorts in this series.