1066 and the Battle of Hastings.

This is the year that saw 3 Kings in power in England - Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwineson and William the Conqueror.

After the death of Edward in early 1066, Harold was crowned King. William did not like this - he had already been promised the Crown from Edward in the years before his death. He therefore proceeded in getting ready to fight Harold for the crown of England. He aimed to take England from the South. Harald Hardraada, a Norwegian who has not been not mentioned before, did not like Harold's coronation either, believing that he also had a stronger claim to the Crown. He also wanted England in order to rebuild the great Viking Empire that had been lost. He was also planning to invade the country though from the North.

So Harold Godwineson had to try and defend the country from a Northern attack as well as from a Southern Attack - Stretching his army rather thin. The Northern attack happened first, Harold winning after the Battles of Stamford Bridge and those just outside York.

When William chose to cross the channel to England, Harold Godwineson was not in the best of forms. He had a weakened, smaller, exhausted army that was miles from where William was planning to attack - they were still resting from Harald. Harold had to march them to the other end of the country and try and gather as many people as he could along the way to make up numbers.

The video in this link explains the battle and what happened afterwards.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/1066-battle-of-hastings-abbey-and-battlefield/history/

After the Battle, William was forced to consolidate his power by gaining control of the country. He did this in a variety of ways, as can be seen in the next post.