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Bertha (c. 780 - after 11 March 824) was the seventh child and third da u g h t e r of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, by his second wife, Hildegar d .
Bertha was raised with her brothers and sisters in the royal household o f C h a r l emagne, who had all of his children educated by tutors.
An offer by Offa of Mercia to arrange a marriage between Bertha and his s o n , E c g frith, led to Charlemagne breaking off diplomatic relations with M e r c i a i n 790, and banning English ships from his ports. Like her sister s , B e r t ha never formally married; it has been speculated that Charlemag n e d i d n o t want his daughters married for strategic reasons, fearing po l i t i c al rivalry from their potential husbands.
Bertha was in a long relationship with Angilbert, a court official, whi c h p r o d uced three children. During 794-5, Angilbert presented a poem as a c o u r t e n tertainment, praising the beauty and charms of Charlemagne's dau g h t e r s; Bertha is praised in particular for having critical discernment a n d a p p r eciation for poetry, which Angilbert points out is a cause for h i m t o b e c o ncerned about how she might receive his poem.
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780 - 824 (44 years)