Alfred was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburga. She was the daughter of Osburga, Athelwulf's butler. Alfred was born in 849 in the royal village of Wantage then in Berkshire. In the world he grew up in there was constant talk and fear of Viking raiders. For fourteen years they had been raiding but a year after Alfred's birth they remained all winter. The Viking menace was now settled on the island of Thanet in Kent.