Æthelwulf of Wessex
In 855, King Æthelwulf of Wessex made a pilgrimage to Rome with his youngest son Alfred, who was about six years old. On the way back, in 856, he stayed at the court of Charles the Bald. Back in July, on the way to Rome, Æthelwulf negotiated his marriage with Judith, who was twelve years old, while he was probably in his mid-fifties. It was a diplomatic alliance: both kings suffered from Viking attacks, and for Æthelwulf, this union had the additional advantage of an alliance with the prestigious Carolingian dynasty. By contemporary and even modern historiography, the event was considered an extraordinary event: Carolingian princesses rarely married and were usually sent to nunneries, and it was almost unknown for them to marry foreigners.