Ealdgyth, daughter of Earl Ælfgar
| Ealdgyth | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of England | |
| Tenure | January 1066 - 14 October 1066 |
| Spouse |
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Harold Godwinson |
| Issue | Maredudd ap Gruffydd Idwal ap Gruffydd Nesta ferch Gruffydd Ulf of England Harold of England |
| Father | Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia |
| Mother | Ælfgifu |
Ealdgyth (fl. c. 1057–1066), also Aldgyth or in modern English, Edith, was a daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia, the wife of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (d. 1063), ruler of all Wales, and later the wife and queen consort of Harold Godwineson, king of England in 1066. She was described by William of Jumièges as a considerable beauty.
Ealdgyth was the daughter of Ælfgar, who had been earl of East Anglia a number of times in the 1050s and was appointed earl of Mercia in c. 1057, in succession of his father Earl Leofric. Ælfgar's wife Ælfgifu was probably her mother, and Eadwine, the later earl of Mercia, and Morcar, earl of Northumbria, were her brothers.
In 1055, Ælfgar was exiled on the charge of treason. He went to Ireland to muster troops and formed an alliance with Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, who had been king of Gwynedd (1039–1055) but assumed the sovereignty of all Wales in 1055. Ælfgar and Gruffudd invaded England and plundered Hereford, bringing great humiliation to Earl Ralph, who needed to call in external support to repel the invaders. When peace was made, Ælfgar resumed office before succeeding his father as earl of Mercia in c. 1057.
It was presumably in the year of her father's appointment (c. 1057) that Ealdgyth married his political ally, King Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. William of Jumièges describes her as a woman of considerable beauty.Walter Map also wrote of a beautiful lady much beloved by the king and so he may have had Ealdgyth in mind. On her marriage, she was given a modest amount of land in England, though the only estate which can be certainly identified as having belonged to her is one at Binley, Warwickshire. She bore the king a daughter called Nest. Nest later became the wife of Osbern fitz Richard, a marcher lord on the Herefordshire border, who acquired Binley. Nest and Osbern had a daughter who married Bernard de Neufmarché, also a marcher lord. The chronicles also record two of Gruffudd's sons, Maredudd and Ithel, probably for Idwal, who died in 1069, and a third son may be Owain ap Gruffudd (d. 1059).
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