Edward the Confessor had died the previous day, having suffered a series of strokes in late 1065 that caused him to lie in a coma for much of the remainder of his life. Edward died without an heir, and this sparked a succession crisis that culminated in the Norman invasion of England later that year.
The Normans claimed that Edward had promised the throne of England to William of Normandy. This is reported by various Norman chroniclers, and the Bayeux Tapestry even shows Harold swearing an oath on sacred relics to support William’s claim to the English throne after he was shipwrecked in 1064. The reliability of the Tapestry’s account is debated by historians, especially since it goes against the English tradition that the new king would be chosen by the Witenaġemot – the ‘meeting of wise men’.
Whatever the truth of Edward’s promise and Harold’s meeting with William, Edward apparently regained consciousness and entrusted his kingdom to Harold for ‘protection’ shortly before he died. When the Witenaġemot met on 6 January they elected Harold to be the new king, and his coronation took place the same day. Historians generally believe that this took place in Westminster Abbey, which had been built by Edward and was consecrated just a few days earlier on 28 December 1065.
Hearing of Harold’s accession to the English throne, William of Normandy soon began preparing to invade. Harold reigned for barely nine months before being killed at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October by the Norman invaders.
1066-12-25: William of Normandy = William the Conqueror, crowned King - HiPo > .
William defeated the English king Harold II at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, but was forced to fight on after a number of English nobles nominated Edgar the Ætheling as the new king. When William led his Norman troops across the Thames at Wallingford in early December they were met by Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who just a few weeks earlier had elected Edgar as king. However, he immediately abandoned Edgar and submitted to William, who soon marched to Berkhamsted where Edgar himself gave up his claim to the throne.
William’s coronation in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day saw both Norman and English nobility in attendance. Norman troops were stationed outside the Abbey and in the surrounding streets in case of trouble while the coronation itself was conducted by Geoffrey, the Bishop of Coutances, and Ealdred, the Archbishop of York. The account of Orderic Vitalis, the Anglo-French chronicler of Norman England, tells how the assembled nobles ‘shouted out with one voice’ when asked if they agreed to William becoming King of England.
The troops outside mistook these cheers for a fight between the Normans and English inside the church and set fire to some of the English houses nearby before charging into the Abbey itself. The arrival of the troops panicked the coronation guests, many of whom fled the Abbey while the bishops frantically finished the ceremony amid the commotion. After Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson, William became the third person to wear the crown of England that year.
The Battle of Hastings 1066 - The Normans - BBC Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLy1LskT6Y8
1066, Normans, Domesday
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtakTnKQQMCwAB8Aw_8oK_RK98FBvtnrq*
On 25th December 1066, William of Normandy was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
William’s coronation in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day saw both Norman and English nobility in attendance. Norman troops were stationed outside the Abbey and in the surrounding streets in case of trouble while the coronation itself was conducted by Geoffrey, the Bishop of Coutances, and Ealdred, the Archbishop of York. The account of Orderic Vitalis, the Anglo-French chronicler of Norman England, tells how the assembled nobles ‘shouted out with one voice’ when asked if they agreed to William becoming King of England.
The troops outside mistook these cheers for a fight between the Normans and English inside the church and set fire to some of the English houses nearby before charging into the Abbey itself. The arrival of the troops panicked the coronation guests, many of whom fled the Abbey while the bishops frantically finished the ceremony amid the commotion. After Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson, William became the third person to wear the crown of England that year.
14 October 1066 | The Brutal Battle that Killed King Harold of England 2:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jurwgaFyuLU The Battle of Hastings 1066 - The Normans - BBC Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLy1LskT6Y8
1066, Normans, Domesday
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtakTnKQQMCwAB8Aw_8oK_RK98FBvtnrq*
