By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. His first marriage was not sanctioned by the church but was accepted by the commoners of England. By this time, William considered himself to be the successor of the childless Edward the Confessor, but the only sources we have for this are Norman ones from after the conquest, as the contemporary English sources such as the Anglo Saxon Chronicle are silent on the matter, referring to Edgar Ætheling, son of Edward, as Ætheling, or princely heir.

The first battle was at Fulford Gate, an uncertain location somewhere near York. His accession to the English throne as King William I ended the Anglo-Saxon phase of English history. According to one such tale, Harold spent two years recovering from wounds he received at Hastings before going on pilgrimage in France and England. Books Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Harold_Godwinson/. The battle was a total victory for Harold with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recording that there were only enough survivors from the invading army to fill 24 ships. Royal Family Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Harold’s army took up position on a low rise, ‘hammer-head ridge’, which was protected on the sides by woods and in front by a stream and marshy ground. He was also a focus for opposition to the growing Norman influence in England encouraged by the king, Edward (known as 'the Confessor' for his piety). Harold was born around 1023 CE into the powerful Godwinson family, with his father, Godwin, being the Earl of Wessex and one of the richest men in England. Harold Godwinson’s star rose even higher when he was crowned king on 6 January 1066 CE following the death the day before of his brother-in-law King Edward the Confessor, who died childless. Read more. Hardrada’s fleet arrived off the north-east coast of England near the mouth of the River Tyne on 8 September where it was joined by a small fleet of perhaps 12 ships commanded by Tostig. Duke William arrived soon after and forced Guy to turn Harold over to him. He ruled England after king Edward the Confessor died. Harold was born in the early 1020s, the son of Godwine, Earl of Wessex. William’s efforts to shatter Harold’s shield wall (a formation of troops in which soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder with their shields overlapping) failed at first, and William’s horsemen broke ranks and fled in confusion, with Harold’s army in hot pursuit. To settle the question of succession, negotiations were begun in 1054 to bring Edward, Edmund’s son (nephew…, …1065 Edward sent his brother-in-law—Harold, earl of Wessex, Godwine’s son and Edward’s eventual successor as king—on an embassy to Normandy to confirm Edward’s recognition of William as his heir, according to Norman sources. Although he had lost the support of Tostig, he strengthened his position with the Mercians and the Welsh by marrying Morcar’s sister, who had previously been married to a Welsh prince.