In 704, Æthelred abdicated to become a monk and abbot at Bardney, leaving the kingship to his nephew Coenred. Seventh century Mercian rulers often patronised religious establishments outside the Mercian heartlands, perhaps as a way of gaining support in outlying provinces. Æthelred's and Osthryth's interest in Bardney is consistent with this pattern. The encouragement of the cult of royal saints in areas beyond the central Mercian lands also seems to have been a deliberate policy, and both Æthelred and Osthryth were later revered as saints at Bardney. It appears that Æthelred continued to have influence in the kingdom after his abdication: a passage in Stephen of Ripon's "Life of Wilfrid" shows Æthelred summoning Coenred to him and advising him to make peace with Wilfrid. The date of Æthelred's death is not recorded; though it is known that he was buried at Bardney.