1066-the year of the "Conqueror"

In 1066 C.E., after the death of King Edward the Confessor, the throne of England was claimed by three powerful men, Earl Harold Godwinson of Wessex, King Harald Hardrada of Norway and Duke William II of Normandy.  While each of these men felt justified in claiming the rightful kingship of England, it was Harold Godwinson who was first to succeed in being crowned king in January 1066.  In response, both King Harald and Duke William II made plans to invade England and take the crown by force of arms. In September, at the Battle of Samford Bridge near the city of York, the English Army under King Harold killed Harald and destroyed most of his Viking army.

With one claimant to the throne dead, it now William's time to make his try for the crown of England. After successfully crossing the English Channel with an army in excess of 8,000 men (some estimates range up to over 12,000 warriors) of which around half were mounted, armored "shock troops," William was ready to throw the die of battle with the stakes being the rulership of England. In face of this crisis, King Harold had rushed with his troops from Northern England to face the second invasion of his realm in less than two months and prepared for battle with an enemy army that probably heavily outnumbered his own (the numbers of his troops are unknown but are most often estimated to be well below 10,000 and contained very few cavalry).  So, it occurred that on 14 October 1066, the bloody Battle of Hastings decided the fate of the rulership of England.  The English had formed a traditional shield wall defensive formation atop a sloping hillock where they were able to resist multiple Norman charges for most of the day.  Late in the day, in the confusion of battle the Normans wavered when it was thought William had been killed, nothing could be further from the truth, William was alive and rallied his troops.  Rather it was Harold who was killed, and the English Army eventually overrun.

With the battle won England was to receive her third crowned king in less than a year, William I "the Conqueror." The new king now added England to his dukedom in France to become one of the most powerful leaders in late 12 century Western Europe. William I "the Conqueror" was a French nobleman, descendent of "Viking" Norsemen. He was born circa 1028 CE, was Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087 and King of England from 1066 to 1087. Queen Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor are direct descendants of William I.