The Queen of Wessex Twice

Widowhood and Third Marriage

I informed all men not to inform Æthelberht of Æthelbald's death. Æthelberht was the next in line to the throne, as he was the third eldest son of Æthelwulf, the first being Æthelstan, who predeceased his father and the second being Æthelbald. After all, Æthelbald had no living children, so Æthelberht was free to claim Wessex.

However, I was not going to let that happen. I allied with Ealhstan, a former ally of Æthelbald, who helped Æthelbald in his rebellion in the Year of Our Lord 856. Now, Ealhstan was an ally of mine, and I asked him for help.

Ealhstan deemed Æthelberht, Æthelred and Alfred all illegitimate as Osburh had committed adultery. I then appointed Ealhstan as king, much to all of Wessex's displeasure. Ealhstan followed all of my orders, ultimately becoming my puppet.

By then, all of my French soldiers had returned back to France, and the army of Wessex did not want to fight for a king they did not recognise. Thus, Winchester was left undefended, and on the twenty-second day of August in the Year of Our Lord 860, the Kentish army invaded Winchester.

A lady rushed into my room, informing me of the invasion. I quickly put on my coat and did not bother to dress. I wore my nightgown and fled the palace, along with Ealhstan and other men and women loyal to me. Those men had already hired a ship for me, and all I needed was to get onto that ship.

When I stepped out of the palace, the streets were pretty chaotic; soldiers burnt villagers' houses to the ground, slaughtered men and raped women. I barely escaped a falling building, but one of my ladies' dresses caught fire and she burnt to death. I made it to the harbour, but to my horror, the men who had brought the ship to me were laying on the floor, bleeding.

I ran forward and tried to help one of the men. My other ladies took out bandages and tried to stop the bleeding while my men protected us. Just then, a group of soldiers ambushed us.

They attacked my men, and one by one, they killed my men, until only Ealhstan, my ladies and I were left.

"Queen Dowager Judith, Bishop Ealhstan, you have been arrested on the orders of His Highness King Æthelberht." One of the men told me.

"You do not have the power to arrest me. I am Judith, descendant of Charlemagne, and daughter of King Charles! You do not dare lay a finger on me, or else-" I was shoved to the floor by one of the men.

Then, I was put in chains and paraded through Winchester. Ealhstan was behind me, along with my ladies, who walked beside me, lowering their heads in shame, although they were not put in chains.

"That's the whore Judith!"

"How the tables have turned."

The people muttered as I dragged my feet through the mud. Some threw dirt at me, while others shouted insults. I was brought to Winchester Cathedral, where I awaited trial with Ealhstan.

The next day, my father received the news of my arrest, and he was infuriated. He ordered that I be brought back to France or he would invade Wessex. I was handed over, but Ealhstan was not so lucky.

Luckily, he was found not guilty, as Æthelberht understood that he was merely a figurehead. However, he was greatly disappointed that he could not take revenge on me.

On the seventh day of September in the Year of Our Lord 860, I was informed of Æthelberht's great coronation. However, I was not invited, due to obvious reasons.

My father locked me up in my chambers for months, only letting me out to go to church and to eat. My father disgraced me, and removed my title as Princess, so I was simply called Lady Judith.