by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Harold Godwinson was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Born around 1022, he was the second son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir. Godwin, Earl of Wessex was one of the most powerful earls in England under Cnut the Great, Harold I Harefoot, Harthacnut, and his son-in-law Edward the Confessor. Harold’s mother was the daughter of the Danish chieftain Thorkel Sprakling whose claim to fame was being the grandfather of two kings, Gytha’s son Harold who became King of England and King Sweyn II of Denmark, the son of Thorkel’s son Ulf.  After the death of his elder brother Sweyn in 1052, Harold became his father’s heir.

Harold had nine siblings:

• Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Herefordshire (circa 1021 – 1052, killed while returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem)
• Edith of Wessex (circa 1025 – 1075), married Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England, no children
• Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria (circa 1026 – 1066, killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge), married Judith of Flanders, had children
• Gyrth Godwinson, Earl of East Anglia (circa 1032 – 1066, killed at the Battle of Hastings)
• Leofwine Godwinson, Earl of Kent (circa 1035 – 1066, killed at the Battle of Hastings)
• Wulfnoth Godwinson (circa 1040 – 1094), imprisoned in Normandy from 1051 – 1087, released upon King William I of England‘s death in 1087, then imprisoned in England by King William II Rufus of England until he died in 1094
• Alfgar, a monk
• Elgiva (died circa 1066)
• Gunhilda (died 1087), a nun

In 1042, Harold’s father Godwin, Earl of Wessex was instrumental in securing the English throne for Edward the Confessor, the son of Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English and his second wife Emma of Normandy. When Godwin’s daughter Edith married Edward the Confessor, King of England, on January 23, 1045, he and his sons gained even more power. Shortly after his sister’s marriage to Edward the Confessor, Harold became Earl of East Anglia.

In 1051, Godwin and his sons fell out of favor with Edward and fled England. Edith was sent to a nunnery, possibly because she was childless and Edward hoped to divorce her. Godwin and his family returned to England in 1052 with armed forces, gaining the support of the townspeople, and peasants, forcing Edward to restore his earldom. Harold succeeded his father as Earl of Wessex in 1053 and was the second most powerful man in England after the king. Soon Harold was handling most of the matters of government for his brother-in-law Edward the Confessor. Like his father, Harold led the resistance against the Norman influence in England.

Edith the Fair, also known as Edith Swansneck, was Harold’s companion for more than twenty years. Their relationship was more danico, Latin for “in the Danish manner”, similar to handfasting. Although the relationship was not recognized by the Catholic Church, Harold and Edith’s children were not considered illegitimate.

Edith the Fair and Harold had six children:

• Godwin of Wessex (born circa 1049), exiled after his father’s death in 1066, disappears from history in the early 1070s
• Edmund of Wessex (born circa 1049), exiled after his father’s death in 1066, disappears from history in the early 1070s
• Magnus of Wessex (born circa 1051), exiled after his father died in 1066
• Gytha of Wessex (died 1107) (circa 1053 – died 1098 or 1107), married Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Prince of Kievan Rus, had at least five children
• Gunhild of Wessex (circa 1055 – 1097), abandoned her life as a nun at Wilton Abbey and lived with Alan the Red, intending to marry him, after his death, she lived with his brother Alan the Black
• Ulf, imprisoned in Normandy after his father died in 1066, on his deathbed in 1087, King William I of England was persuaded to release all of his political prisoners including Ulf

The marriage of Edward the Confessor and Harold’s sister Edith was childless and there was concern over the succession. At that time, succession to the throne was not entirely based upon primogeniture. The Anglo-Saxons had a king’s council called the Witan and one of the Witan’s jobs was to elect the king. There were several potential candidates to succeed Edward the Confessor.

1) Edward the Exile (1016 – 1057) also called Edward Ætheling was the son of King Edmund II Ironside. Edmund Ironside was the half-brother of Edward the Confessor from Æthelred II the Unready’s first marriage, so Edward the Exile was Edward the Confessor’s nephew. Edmund Ironside succeeded his father Æthelred II (the Unready) as King of England in 1016. Edmund’s reign was short-lived. During his seven-month reign, Edmund battled against the Danish Cnut the Great for control of England. After a victory for the Danes at the Battle of Assandun on October 18, 1016, Edmund was forced to sign a treaty with Cnut which stated that all of England except Wessex would be controlled by Cnut. When one of the kings died, the other would take all of England, that king’s son being the heir to the throne. Edmund Ironside died on November 30, 1016, and Cnut became king of all England. King Cnut sent Edward the Exile to King Olaf Skötkonung of Sweden to be murdered, but instead, the king sent him to Kyiv where his daughter was the queen. There he grew up in exile. Edward the Exile had the best hereditary claim to the English throne.

2) Edgar the Ætheling (circa 1051 – circa 1126) was the son of Edward the Exile. After his father’s death, Edgar had the best hereditary claim to the English throne.

3) Harald III Hardrada, King of Norway (circa 1015 – 1066) was named the heir to his childless nephew King Magnus I of Norway. Magnus and King Harthacnut of England and Denmark, Edward the Confessor’s half-brother and his predecessor, made a political agreement that the first of them to die would be succeeded by the other. As Magnus’ heir, Harald Hardrada, thought he had a claim to the English throne.

4) Harold Godwinson (circa 1022 – 1066) was the son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, the most powerful earl in England and the brother of Edward the Confessor’s wife. Harold succeeded his father as Earl of Wessex in 1053 and he became the most powerful person in England after Edward the Confessor, King of England.

5) William II, Duke of Normandy (circa 1027-1028 – 1087) was the first cousin once removed of Edward the Confessor. Edward the Confessor’s mother Emma of Normandy was the sister of William’s grandfather Richard II the Good, Duke of Normandy. William’s marriage to Matilda of Flanders may have been motivated by his growing desire to become King of England. Matilda was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex. In 1051, William visited his first cousin once removed, Edward the Confessor, King of England, and apparently Edward named William as his successor.

In 1057, Edward the Confessor discovered that his nephew Edward the Exile was still alive and summoned him to England as a potential successor. However, Edward the Exile died within two days of his arrival in England and the cause of his death has never been determined. Murder is a possibility, as he had many powerful enemies, one of them being Godwin, Earl of Wessex. Edward the Exile’s three children Edgar the Ætheling, Margaret, and Cristina were then raised in the court of Edward the Confessor. Margaret, known as Saint Margaret of Scotland, married King Malcolm III of Scotland and their daughter Edith, also known as Matilda, married King Henry I of England, son of William I.

From 1062 – 1063, Harold led a series of successful campaigns against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd, King of Wales. This conflict ended with Gruffydd’s defeat and death in 1063. On his way home to England, Harold was shipwrecked on the shores of Ponthieu in northern France and was captured by Guy I, Count of Ponthieu. William II, Duke of Normandy demanded the release of Harold, and after being paid a ransom for him, Guy delivered Harold Godwinson to William. Harold was not released from Normandy until he had sworn on holy relics to be William’s vassal and to support his claim to the throne of England.

In 1065, Edward the Confessor probably had a series of strokes. He was too ill to attend the dedication of his greatest achievement, the church at Westminster, now called Westminster Abbey, on December 28, 1065. Edward the Confessor died several days later, on January 5, 1066. According to the Vita Ædwardi Regis, before Edward died he briefly regained consciousness and named Harold Godwinson his heir. The Witan met the next day and selected Harold Godwinson to succeed Edward as King Harold II. Probably, Harold was immediately crowned in Westminster Abbey.

Harold made a marriage recognized by the Catholic Church. Although the date is unknown, it occurred sometime before the Norman Conquest in October 1066 but whether it occurred before or after Harold’s coronation as King of England is unknown. Even though Edith the Fair was still living, (she lived until around 1086), Harold married the widow of a defeated enemy, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd, King of Wales, Ealdgyth of Mercia, daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia. Apparently, Harold married her to secure the support of the Mercians and also to weaken the links between the Mercians and the Welsh rulers.

Harold and Ealdgyth had one son who was born after Harold’s death:

• Harold (1067 – after 1098), exiled during the reign of King William I of England and found refuge at the court of the King of Norway.

When William II, Duke of Normandy heard that Harold Godwinson had been crowned King of England, he began careful preparations for an invasion of England. During the summer of 1066, he assembled an army and an invasion fleet. Meanwhile, in England, King Harold II was forced to march to Northumbria in September 1066 to deal with an invasion by his brother Tostig Godwinson and Harald III Hardrada, King of Norway. Harold defeated the invaders on September 25, 1066, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and his brother Tostig Godwinson and Harold Hardrada were killed in the battle. The Norman invasion fleet sailed two days later and landed in England on September 28, 1066.

The army of William II, Duke of Normandy army met the army of King Harold of England about six miles northwest of Hastings, England on October 14, 1066. Harold appears to have tried to surprise William but Norman scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. Early efforts of the Normans to break the English battle lines had little effect. In response, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold’s death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. Two of Harold’s brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine, were also killed at the Battle of Hastings.

Following Harold’s death in battle, the Witan elected the teenaged Edgar the Ætheling, the last of the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex, King of England. As William’s position grew stronger, it became evident to those in power that King Edgar should be abandoned and that they should submit to William. On Christmas Day 1066, William was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

Exactly what happened to Harold’s body is unknown. An account by the Norman chronicler William of Jumieges says that Harold’s mother Gytha offered to buy her son’s body for its weight in gold but the offer was rejected by William II, Duke of Normandy. Another source says that Harold’s rejected first companion Edith the Fair was called to identify the body, which she did by some private mark known only to her. Harold’s strong association with Bosham in West Sussex, England, and the discovery in 1954 of an Anglo-Saxon coffin in the church there, has suggested it might be his burial place.  An exhumation had revealed the remains of a man, estimated to be around 60 years old, lacking a head, one leg, and the lower part of his other leg. In 2003, a request to exhume remains in Bosham Church for DNA analysis was refused by the Diocese of Chichester on the grounds that the chances of establishing the identity of the body as Harold’s were too slim to justify disturbing a burial place.

The strongest claim for Harold’s burial place is the Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross in the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. Harold had rebuilt, refounded, and richly endowed the church, which was rededicated in 1060. The church was left in ruins during the Dissolution of the Monasteries which occurred in the reign of King Henry VIII and was restored in subsequent centuries. The reputed site of King Harold II’s grave now lies in the churchyard.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Wessex Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Unofficial Royalty: House of Wessex Index
• Unofficial Royalty: British Royal Burial Sites: House of Wessex
• Unofficial Royalty: Coronations before the Norman Conquest (871 – 1066)

Works Cited

• Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
• Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
• En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Harold Godwinson. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Godwinson [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].
• Flantzer, S. (2019). Edith of Wessex, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at:  https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/edith-of-wessex-queen-of-england/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].
• Flantzer, S. (2016). King William I of England (the Conqueror). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-i-of-england-the-conqueror/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].
• Flantzer, S. (2019). Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/saint-edward-the-confessor-king-of-england/ [Accessed 25 Mar. 2019].
• Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.