Harold Godwinson, Last King of the English

King Harold, or Harold Godwinson, was King of the English from January to October 1066 - for just nine-and-a-half months. He was born in or around the year 1022, when King Canute was on the throne, which means he ruled England probably when he was in his mid-40s. Harold is most famous for being the King who was toppled by Norman invaders led by William the Bastard at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, possibly after being shot in the eye with an arrow if we’re to believe the Bayeux Tapestry, a contemporary stitched cloth record of events surrounding 1066. We don’t know that much about Harold’s family origins, but we do know that his father, Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, was a powerful nobleman who was very influential during the reign of Edward the Confessor. We also know that Godwin had a tense relationship with King Edward the Confessor. Godwin owned so much land in southern England that he was probably the second most powerful man in the land after the King, and so was a potential threat to the king’s power. The relationship was also especially tense because, years before Edward had become king, his brother had been murdered by the King at the time, Harold Harefoot, with Godwin’s help. This tension would come to a head when Harold reached his late 20s. Godwin died in 1053. Despite being the second son, Godwin’s eldest Sweyn, was in permanent exile and died on his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As a consequence, Harold succeeded his father as the Earl of Wessex, making him perhaps the most powerful man in England after the King. In 1064, just two years before he become king himself, Harold was shipwrecked off the coast of France. This is the point where the waters of history become muddy and murky. The story goes that after washing up against the French coast, Harold was captured and taken to William of Normandy. Harold then apparently fought alongside William against his enemies in Brittany. It was during this visit that the Norman conquerors - possibly seeking to justify their invasion of England - would claim that while he was in France, Harold swore an oath to support William as the next King of England. Indeed, one of the the main justifications for William’s invasion was that, by accepting the crown Harold had broken the oath he had given to William in 1064. Of course, no one knows for sure whether or not this is true. On January the 5th 1066, Edward the Confessor died and the following day Harold Godwinson was crowned king of England. Word of Harold’s coronation quickly spread, and soon William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, began plotting their invasions of England. Before the year was out, King Harold would have to face both in battle. Throughout most of the year 1066 King Harold made his preparations for war, stationing his troops on the Isle of Wight in anticipation of an invasion by William of Normandy. Harold and his troops waited. And waited. And waited - but the invasion never came to pass. William’s invasion fleet was stuck in port for about seven months, possibly because of unfavourable weather. By early September, Harold’s provisions were so low, he pulled his army from the Isle of Wight and repositioned them to London. As this was happening, Harald Hardrada and his invasion fleet set off for England, and landed at the mouth of the Tyne. Hadrada decisively thrashed the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria at the Battle of Fulford, near York on the 20 September. At this point, Harold Godwinson set off from London - five days later, covering around 35 miles a day, his army arrived at Stamford Bridge, surprised Hardrada’s army - who were without their armour and overwhelmed them. Harald Hadrada was defeated. Two days later on the 27 September, William of Normandy managed to land 7,000 men in Sussex on the south Coast of England. Having defeated the Norwegian invaders, Harold was then forced to march 240 miles south to meet William. Nineteen days after defeating Hadrada, Harold would face William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings. The Battle - fought on the 14 October 1066 - lasted most of the day and its estimated that each side would have had anywhere between 5,000 and 13,000 men. Harold died alongside two of his brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine.