Murderess or Maligned? The Extraordinary Story of Ælfthryth

A king murdered at the gates of Corfe Castle. A disputed throne. An ambitious mother. And at the centre of it all, a woman with a direct connection to Tavistock.

It sounds more like the plot of a historical thriller than a Heritage Open Days talk.

Yet this is the extraordinary story of Ælfthryth, sister of Tavistock Abbey's founder Ordulph and the first crowned and anointed Queen of England.

For more than a thousand years, Ælfthryth's reputation has been surrounded by scandal.

She has been portrayed as a temptress who used her beauty to ensnare a king, an ambitious political operator determined to secure the throne for her son and, most sensationally of all, a murderess implicated in the killing of her stepson, King Edward.

But how much of it is actually true?

Dr. Geri Parlby

That is the tantalising question at the heart of Dr Geri Parlby's Heritage Open Days talk,

Temptress, Murderess, Mother and Patron: The Many Faces of Ælfthryth, First Crowned Queen of England.

A Queen Who Broke the Rules

Ælfthryth was born around 945 into an extraordinarily influential Devon family.

Her father was Ordgar, one of the most powerful noblemen in western England, while her brother Ordulph would go on to found Tavistock Abbey.

But Ælfthryth's own rise was remarkable.

She married King Edgar and, in 973, took part in a magnificent coronation ceremony at Bath.

Earlier Anglo-Saxon queens had never been crowned and anointed in the same sacred manner as kings.

Ælfthryth was different.

She was blessed, consecrated and crowned alongside her husband, transforming the position of queen into a recognised public and sacred office. In doing so, she helped establish a model of English queenship that would endure for centuries.

Yet history remembers something much darker.

A Royal Murder

When Edgar died in 975, the throne passed to his elder son Edward rather than Ælfthryth's young son, Æthelred.

Three years later, Edward visited Ælfthryth and Æthelred at Corfe Castle.

He never left alive.

The young king was murdered, and later chroniclers constructed a compelling villain: Ælfthryth.

Edward became revered as Edward the Martyr, while Ælfthryth became the archetypal wicked queen and murderous stepmother.

There is just one rather important complication.

No contemporary source directly accuses her of Edward's murder.

So was Ælfthryth really responsible? Or was a powerful, politically active woman the perfect target for generations of medieval writers uncomfortable with female authority?

Temptress, Murderess... or Patron?

The real Ælfthryth is considerably more complicated than the legend.

She wielded enormous influence as queen mother during the early reign of Æthelred, witnessed royal charters, managed estates and played an unusually visible role in government.

She was also a major religious patron and supporter of the Benedictine reform movement that was transforming English monastic life.

And that creates a particularly intriguing question for Tavistock.

Her brother Ordulph founded Tavistock Abbey in AD 974, at precisely the time Ælfthryth was at the height of her influence. Given her commitment to monasteries, learning and religious reform, could England's first crowned queen have played some part in encouraging one of Devon's greatest monastic foundations?

The surviving evidence cannot give us a definitive answer. But it adds another fascinating dimension to the story of a woman whose connection with Tavistock deserves to be much better known.

What Do You Think?

Was Ælfthryth a pioneering queen?

A ruthless political strategist?

A devoted mother determined to protect her son's inheritance?

A religious patron?

A murderess?

Or was she the victim of one of the most successful character assassinations in English history?

Dr Geri Parlby will explore the evidence, the legends and the many competing faces of Ælfthryth during Heritage Open Days 2026.

There are only a few places left.

If royal intrigue, murder, medieval scandal and the forgotten beginnings of Tavistock sound more interesting than another quiet Saturday evening, now is the time to book.

The remaining tickets are free, but once they're gone, they're gone. Reserve your place and come and decide for yourself: who was the real Ælfthryth?

Either click or scan the QR code to book newly released tickets