Harold II King England

b 1022,
d 1066,

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Harold II King England
\|Ealdgyth Of Mercia
\|m 1064
\|Of Wessex, England, , England	\|

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Notes

Harold II, King Of England succeeded Edward the Confessor and was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. In 1053, Harold succeeded his father, Godwin, as the Earl of Wessex. This made him the most powerful man in England. He continued his father's resistance to Norman influence, which had become strong in England under King Edward's patronage.

When Harold was shipwrecked in 1064, he fell into the hands of Duke William of Normandy, later known as William the Conqueror. William forced Harold to swear that he would support William's claim to the English throne. But when Edward the Confessor died, the English nobles chose Harold king. When Harold accepted, William invaded England to fight for the throne. Harold was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings, in September, 1066. England then came under Norman rule.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p H67.

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