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'Aethelric' was the fourth known king of the Kingdom of Bernicia which he ruled from 568 to 572. Aethelric was the father of Æthelfrith, who was the first monarch to rule both Bernicia and Deira, the two constituent parts of what came to be considered Northumbria.
Aethelric was one of the sons born to Ida of Bernicia, founder of the kingdom. Nothing is known for certain of Aethelric's life and reign. The earliest authorities differ widely on the order and the regnal years of the kings between the death of Ida and the beginning of Æthelfrith's rule in 592/593.