Athelwulf was born . He was the oldest son of King Egbert of Wessex and his Frankish wife Redburga. He may have been born in Francia (France) while his father was in exile there. In 824 his father sent him at the head of an army into Kent. There Athelwulf drove Baldred, the Mercian puppet king, out of Kent. His father appointed Athelwulf King of Kent which included Essex, Surrey and Sussex. Athelwulf ruled as a sub-king of Wessex.