Erconbert was the son of King Edbald of Kent and his second wife, Emma, the daughter of King Theudebert II of Austrasia. He inherited the Kentish throne upon his father's death in AD 640. According to Bede, he was "the first king to order idols to be destroyed throughout the whole kingdom". He married Princess Sexburga, one of the many saintly daughters of King Anna of East Anglia. Together, they had two sons and two daughters. The eldest daughter, Ercongota, became Abbess of Faremoutier-en-Brie; the younger, Ermengilda, married King Wulfhere of Mercia, and became Abbess of Minster-in-Sheppey and then Ely after her husband's death. The two sons, Egbert and Hlothere were successively Kings of Kent, following their father's death, from the plague, on 14th July AD 664 - the same day as Archbishop Deusdedit of Canterbury.