Alfred the Great his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time". In 868, Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini. The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the Mercians. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family. They had five or six children together including: Edward the Elder who succeeded his father as king; Æthelflæd who became Lady (ruler) of the Mercians in her
HMS King Alfred (shore establishment 1939) of ten weeks, the first two weeks at HMS "King Alfred II", then six weeks at HMS "King Alfred III" and the final four weeks at Hove. Upon successful completion of the course, the men emerged as Temporary Acting Probationary Sub-Lieutenants and attended further training at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich before being posted operationally. Training ended in December 1945, HMS "King Alfred II" had closed in October that year and HMS "King Alfred III" closed in December 1945. In January 1946 HMS "King Alfred" moved to Exbury near Southampton and the Hove site became HMS "King Alfred II". This