Æthelhere (died November 15, 655) is King of East Anglia from 653 or 654 until his death.
Æthelhere is a member of the ruling Wuffingas dynasty and is one of three sons of Eni to rule East Anglia as Christian kings.
He is a nephew of Rædwald, who is the first of the Wuffingas of which more than a name is known.
Rædwald and his son Eorpwald both rule as pagans before being converted to Christianity.
After Eorpwald's murder in around 627, the East Angles briefly revert to heathenism, before Christianity is reestablished by Sigeberht.
After Sigeberht abdicates in favor of his co-ruler Ecgric, the East Angles are defeated in battle by the Mercians led by their king Penda, during which both Ecgric and Sigeberht sre slain.
In 651, the monks at Cnobheresburg sre driven out by Penda and Ecgric's successor Anna is forced into temporarily exile.
Penda attacks East Anglia again in 653 and at the Battle of Bulcamp, Anna and his son are slain and the East Anglian army is defeated.
Æthelhere then becomes king, possibly ruling jointly with his surviving brother, Æthelwold.
During Æthelhere's brief reign, it is known that Botolph's monastery at Iken was built.
In 655, Æthelhere is one of thirty noble warlords who join with Penda in an invasion of Northumbria, laying siege to Oswiu and the much smaller Northumbrian army.
The battle is fought on November 15, 655, near the Winwæd, an unidentified river, where the Northumbrians are victorious and many of the Mercians and their allies are killed or drowned.
In the battle, Penda and nearly all his warlords, including Æthelhere, are killed.
