King Ethelred I was a son of Ethelwulf of Wessex and was born in around 837 AD. He succeeded his brother, Ethelbert of Wessex, as King of Wessex in about 865. He had two sons, Ethelwald being the elder. Ethelred I was not able to control the increasing Danish raids which devastated England. On January 4, 871 in the Battle of Reading Ethelred defeated a Danish invasion army. However, he was killed at the Battle of Merton later in 871 and is buried at Wimborne in Dorset. Following his death, he was popularly regarded as a saint, but never canonised. He was succeeded by his brother, King Alfred the Great.