Æthelheard (meaning roughly "Noble Stern"), also spelled Ethelheard, Edelard or Æþelheard, was King of Wessex from 726 to 740.
There is an unreliable record of Æthelheard having been the brother-in-law of his predecessor, Ine,[1] but his ancestry is unknown, perhaps making him the first King of Wessex not to be descended from Cynric by blood.
Some sources identify him as the brother of Queen Æthelburg of Wessex, the wife of his predecessor, King Ine.
[4] In the wake of his departure, the West Saxon throne was disputed between Æthelheard and a rival claimant, Oswald.
However, Æthelheard's lack of independence does not seem to have prevented Æthelbald from taking considerable territory from Wessex in 733, including the royal manor of Somerton.