Eadric was born to Æthelfrith, an ealdorman who ruled territory in southern and eastern Mercia, and his wife Æthelgyth, who came from a family with considerable wealth that owned land in Buckinghamshire.
Æthelstan Half-King was made Ealdorman of East Anglia in 932, though his jurisdiction also included Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire and parts of Lincolnshire.
Æthelwold was granted an ealdordom in 940, ruling over Kent and neighbouring counties including Essex.
[4] Beginning in 943 Æthelstan is listed first among the king's ealdormen when witnessing charters, indicating his premier position.
This identification rests on Ælfgifu's possession of the estate of Risborough, which had belonged to Eadric's mother, Æthelgyth.