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On 6 January 1066, Harold Goldwinson was crowned King of England. But just over 9 months later, Harold was killed in a battle with William the Conqueror for the throne. So why did Harold lose to William and lose his throne, the captain told you in detail.
First, born into the nobility
Harold Goldwinson
Harold Goldwinson was the second son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and Danish noblewoman Gisha Solkelstotttil. Because Godwin was loyal to king of Denmark, Cnut the Great, and also married to Danish nobles, he was awarded the titles of Earl of Wessex and Earl of Kent. After that, Godwin made great contributions to helping the Danish king rule England, and gradually grew into the most powerful nobleman in England, laying the foundation for his son Harold to become king of England.
Second, suppress the king
Edward the Confessor
In 1042, King Hadknut of Denmark and King of England died, and with Godwin's strong support, Edward, the confessor of the House of Essex, was able to regain the throne from the Danes (son of Ethelred, the king's decision-maker), and became King of England. Edward, in gratitude to Godwin, made his eldest son Swain (Harold's brother) the Earl of Hereford, giving him a large tract of land in southwest England.
In 1045, Edward the Confessor married Edith, godwin's daughter, and crowned her queen of England. Harold (Edith's brother) was thus made Count of East Anglia, and Beaune Estrissen (Edith's cousin) was also made Count. This gave the Godwin family access to almost all of southern England, posing a great threat to King Edward.
Edith
In 1047, Swain wanted to acquire the vast land near Lemister, so he asked Edward the Confessor to marry Edjiv, the abbot of the Lemister Abbey. Edward feared that the Godwin family would threaten his rule, and refused to approve Swain's marriage to Edjiv. Edjiv thus returned to Lemister Abbey, but Swain did not give up on the idea of marrying the two parties, so he kidnapped her. Edward took the opportunity to expel Swain from England, and Harold and Beyonne took the opportunity to divide Swain's territory.
Godwin Family Territory (White Shade)
Edward the Confessor, in order to curb the expansion of the Godwin family's power and consolidate the power of the king, vigorously reused the French Normans (Edward's mother Emma was the daughter of the Duke of Normandy) as his cronies. This led to an increasing number of conflicts between the Normandys and the Godwin family, and many conflicts broke out. In 1051, Edward was exiled because Godwin disobeyed and refused to punish the English who had clashed with the Normandy. But soon Godwin, with the help of Harold and other family members, forced Edward into submission and was reinstated.
Third, ascend the throne as king
William, Duke of Normandy
When Godwin died in 1053, Harold took over the power of his father and became the most powerful nobleman in England. At that time, the kingdom of Gwyneth and the kingdom of England were in constant conflict over land, so Harold led his army to attack Gwyneth many times, and finally defeated it, continuing to maintain England's dominance over Wales.
Principality of Normandy
In 1064, Harold went out to sea to fish, only to encounter a storm and be blown by boat to the European continent. Harold was then shipwrecked off the coast of Pontier and imprisoned by Guy I, Count of Pontier of France. William, Duke of Normandy, saw that his cousin Edward had no sons and had the idea of seizing the throne of England, and Harold was a strong contender for the throne of England, so William asked Guy I for someone and got Harold.
William first forced Harold to renounce the succession to the Throne of England and cede it to himself, and forced him to submit to himself. Harold then followed William in battle against Connan II, Duke of Brittany, and was so difficult that William let down his guard and let him return to England.
Harald III
In 1065, Tostigue Godwinsen (Harold's younger brother), Earl of Northumbria, was expelled from Northumbia for rebelling against the people of the territory due to taxation in Northumbia. In order to appease the Northumbrian people and prevent civil war, Harold persuaded Edward to support the local people. Tostig Godwinsen was dissatisfied with Harold and turned to King Harald III of Norway, causing the Godwin family to split.
On 5 January 1066, Edward the Confessor died, and the English nobility elected Harold king of England. William was very dissatisfied with this, claiming that Edward had personally promised to inherit the throne of England by himself, and that Harold had ceded the right to inherit the english throne to himself, so he was the king of England. Harald III, at the instigation of Steger Goldwinson, also claimed the right to inherit the throne of England.
Fourth, the soldiers were defeated and killed
Battle of Hastings
In September, Harald III landed in England with his army, and Harold led his army to resist. The Anglo-Norwegians fought at Stamford Bridge, in which Harold won, while Harald III and Stig Goldwinson were defeated and killed. William, later supported by Roman Catholic Pope Alexander II, led an army to land in England. Harold then led his army south to defend against William, and the two sides fought at the Battle of Hastings. As a result, Harold was defeated and William became King of England.
In general, Harold Goldwinson came from the most powerful Godwin family in England, laying a solid foundation for his subsequent accession to the Throne of England. But the Godwin family's civil strife posed a serious threat to Harold. Although he defeated Harald III, he suffered heavy losses. William the Conqueror took the opportunity to invade England, leaving Harold, who was already devastated, to fight again, only to be defeated and killed because he was outnumbered.