Bertha

Bertha was the queen of Kent and the wife of King Aethelberht I. She was the daughter of Charibert, the king of Paris, and a Christian. Her marriage to Aethelberht, who ruled Kent from 560 to 616, was significant because it may have contributed to the welcoming reception that Augustine and other missionaries received when they arrived in Kent in 597. Aethelberht provided the missionaries with a dwelling in Canterbury, which became the first archiepiscopal see of the English church. While Aethelberht himself may have converted to Christianity, he did not force the religion upon his subjects. Bertha's influence is noted as a factor in the tolerant approach taken towards the Christian mission.12