King Harold is best remembered as the King who was slain in battle during the last invasion of England by William of Normandy in 1066.

To capture the excitement and conjure up the past, this book "Harold : the Last Anglo-Saxon King" is a beautiful read.

The year 1066 is a marker date for the English in a way that is difficult to explain. Perhaps because it heralded in a strong king and a unified country after the preceding period of multiple kingdoms and the ravaging of the country by Danish raids.

Following the death of King Edward, King Harold was crowned on 6th January 1066, the same day that the old King was buried. The haste in this action perhaps reflects the uncertainty of the times.

The coronation took place in the new Westminster Abbey Church in London. Now at the heart of London, Westminster was then clearly the west-minster and to the west of the city of London and out in the country. We can imagine this situation with all the Archbishops, Bishops and Nobles arriving on horse-back at this newly built structure.

Westminster Abbey was the crowning achievement of King Edward (the Confessor) and was a new structure at that time. If you visit London, then this Abbey is one of the most impressive and evocative visits, to a building which has been at the centre of the history of the English nation for a thousand years and carries the relics of the dead King Edward.

The chronology of this fateful year (1066AD) is below:

Autumn 1066, King Harold of Norway crosses the North Sea to invade England.

The fleet sailed down the coast, up the River Humber and Ouse.

The Norwegian forces take York.

King Harold of England leaves London and is at Tadcaster by 24th September and Stamford Bridge by 25th September.

The great victory of the English at Stamford Bridge was the decisive battle of the Middle Ages and ended the Viking Age.

With King Harold of Norway slain......the English now had to treck south to deal with the Norman invasion at Hasting......but that is another story...buy the book to find out more.

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