Alfred the Great ( ; - 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and Æthelwulf's first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht