Divorced, Beheaded, Died: The History of Britain's Kings and Queens in Bite-Sized Chunks Read Online Free PDF

daughter of Earl Godwin of Wessex, boosted the already enormously powerful Godwin clan’s aspirations to the throne. Edward could have resolved all this by producing an heir, but he and Edith had no children. Indeed, there were rumours that the marriage was never consummated.
    Edward’s reign was made difficult by the powerful position of the Godwin family, which threatened civil war. Earl Godwin was implicated in the blinding and murder of Edward’s brother, Alfred, and was involved in several armed conflicts with the King. But by the end of his reign, Edward seems to have reconciled with the clan as Godwin’s son, Harold, was declared heir to the throne.
    Edward’s reign was relatively peaceful and he oversaw some successes against the Welsh and the Scots, with his nominee Malcolm, for example, achieving the overthrow of Macbeth with English support.
    A deeply pious man, Edward built the magnificent Westminster Abbey (though none of his building remains), where he was buried on his death in 1066. He was made a saint in 1161.

    H AROLD II
    Reigned 1066
    Harold Godwinson was King Edward’s brother-in-law, the son of the powerful Earl Godwin of Wessex. Godwin had supported Cnut, Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor during their reigns, and by the end of his life he was arguably more powerful than the King. Harold was a highly competent member of his father’s entourage and also loyally supported Edward the Confessor, even against his own rebellious brothers, Swein of Mercia and Tostig of Northumbria, who were later both exiled. He married Edith, daughter of the Earl of Mercia, and widow of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, the only native ruler to exercise power throughout Wales. He also had a famous mistress, Edith Swan Neck, and had five or six illegitimate children.
    On the death of King Edward, Harold was named as his successor and approved by the King’s council, the Witan. But this did not cut much ice with Scandinavian and Norman claimants to the throne. The lack of royal blood in Harold’s veins was a serious weakness for which he was to pay dearly.
    When Harold was crowned in 1066, the nation came under immediate threat of invasion from Normandy and Norway. Defences against William of Normandy were prepared, but the first threat to materialize came from King Harald Hardrada of Norway. Hardrada was supported by Tostig, Harold Godwinson’s younger brother, who had been dispossessed of his Northumbrian earldom. The Norwegian army landed in the north and defeated the earls of Mercia and Northumbria near York. They were resting at Stamford Bridge when the English army, led by Harold, appeared as if from nowhere and after a terrific struggle completely defeated the Norwegians, killing Tostig and Hardrada.
    News then reached Harold that William of Normandy had landed at Pevensey and was laying waste to the countryside. Rather than waiting for reinforcements, Harold marched southwards to deal with the Normans. The two armies clashed at Senlac, near Hastings. The English held out all day but as the evening approached, a retreat by the Normans gave the tiring English a hope of outright victory, and they broke their shield wall to pursue the Normans. Either by design or strength of will, the Normans rallied, routing the English and killing Harold and his brothers. An English warrior depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry as being shot through the eye with an arrow, may or may not be Harold.
    After the Battle of Hastings, the English held London against William for a while, but eventually made the decision to surrender to a strong king rather than fight to put a weak one on the throne, the only other contender (as all of Harold’s brothers had been killed) being Edgar the Atheling, Edmund Ironside’s grandson, who was still a young boy. Perhaps the success of King Cnut’s reign reduced their fears of submitting to another foreign king.

The Normans
    The Normans were Vikings (Northmen) who settled in France from the ninth century onwards.