Hlothhere was a younger son of King Erconbert of Kent and his wife, Sexburga the daughter of King Anna of East Anglia. He succeeded his brother, Egbert I, to the throne in AD 673. He seems to have been an able monarch who re-established Kentish control of London in A 675. However, unlike his brother, he made the mistake of failing to eliminate his rivals and, nine years later, faced an invasion force from Sussex led by his own nephew, Edric. Hlothhere was forced to back down and share his kingdom where, thenceforth, the two ruled together. This is clearly illustrated by the second law-code of Kent which is issued in both their names. Hlothhere had been mortally wounded in the battles between the two and, though he struggled on for some months, he eventually died the following year. Edric succeeded to a single throne, but was expelled in AD 686.