King of Wessex

The King of Wessex was the title given to the ruler of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex.

In the late 9th century, Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex. He was engaged in a war with King Guthrum, who had already successfully invaded Mercia and Northumbria by the time of Alfred's meeting with the Sixth Doctor. He told the Doctor that, after the disasters at Anglia and Reading, there were those who told him to give up, make peace with the Danes and let them have Wessex. The Doctor assured him that he was not fighting in vain and that Guthrum would become a Christian, ending hostilities.

The Doctor also told Alfred that, although Wessex was currently alone, it was to be joined by many other territories which would coalesce and reform into a greater whole. He prophesied Alfred would become king not just of a region but a whole country, one which was eventually to be called England. (PROSE: The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up)

In 918, the ruler of the territory was Edward of Wessex, an earl rather than a king. He killed his sister Æthelfrid, the Queen of Mercia, to take control of the kingdom. This led to him uniting the north of England with the south, (AUDIO: The Lady of Mercia) paving the way for Athelstan to become "the first King of Britain" in 924. There was still a separate King of the Welsh at this time (TV: Planet of the Dead) but Wales was absorbed into Great Britain in the following centuries. (TV: Boom Town, The New World)