Ætheling
| Cyning (sovereign) |
| Ætheling (prince) |
| Ealdorman (Earl) |
| Hold / High-reeve |
| Thegn |
| Thingmen / Housecarl / Hearthweru (retainer) |
| Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) |
| Churl (free tenant) |
| Villein (serf) |
| Cottar (cottager) |
| Þēow (slave) |
An Ætheling (/ˈæθəlɪŋ/; also aetheling, atheling and etheling) was in Anglo-Saxon England a prince of the royal dynasty eligible for the kingship.
It is an Old English term (æþeling) derived from a compound of aethele, æþele or (a)ethel, meaning "noble family", and -ing, which means "belonging to". It was usually rendered in Latin as filius regis (king's son) or the Anglo-Latin neologism clito.
Ætheling can be found in the Suffolk toponym of Athelington.