He also took advantage of this meeting to have his son Ecgferth consecrated as his colleague, and that prince subsequently signed charters as Rex Merciorum.
It goes back to the time of King Alfred, who seems to have frequently used the title rex Anglorum Saxonum or rex Angul-Saxonum.
The Balaeniceps rex, elsewhere rare, is found here in large numbers.
In his charters he is continually called "rex totius Britanniae," and he adopts for the first time the Greek title basileus.
The broad lower end of the symbol is rather an accidental pit in the stone than an attempt at a diacritic mark - the word is regei, in all probability the early dative form of rex, " king."
