The Battle for the English Crown.
William was now a powerful continental ruler whose power rivalled that of his nominal overlord, the king of France. However William had his eyes on a much greater prize.
Eyes on the prize! William desires to gain lands of a far greater size!
William considered himself to be the heir to his distant cousin, the elderly king of England, Edward the Confessor. Edward had spent part of his formative years in Normandy and retained an affection for the Norman way of life. Normans were made extremely welcome at his court and many settled permanently in England.
The Confessor in his younger days.
Edward would die without an heir. An event that would ultimately cause the three greatest military commanders of the era to fight to the death on English soil.
Wise career move!
William was aware that Edward enjoyed the company of Normans, so as a young man he is alleged to have taken the trouble to visit Edward in 1051 in order to become better acquainted. William and Edward appeared to hit it off really well! So well in fact that William claimed that Edward had promised him the throne of England after his death. During his latter years, Edward had become preoccupied with the construction of his great church just west of London, ‘the west minster’, that would one day be known as Westminster Abbey. Edward died in January 1066 and William assumed that he would now become king.
William is pipped at the post!
He finds himself rejected by the most!
The most? Yes, the Saxons of England had other ideas! They wanted one of their own to rule over them. Edward appears to have had second thoughts regarding his Norman cousin, because on his deathbed, he declared that Harold Godwinson would be his successor!
Harold as Earl of Wessex was an experienced ruler and an accomplished soldier. Indeed the ‘Witan’ , or the body of great nobles which advised the king, selected Harold over William as king.
Harold Godwinson.
Harold was crowned king within days of Edward’s death in the new abbey at Westminster.
Why?
Because as a prospective boss,
The Saxon nobles considered William a dead loss!
William had a reputation of dealing in a very tough manner with people who upset him!
William considered this an outrageous trick!
It was one that made him sick!
He prepares a mammoth invasion
that would mark a momentous historical occasion!
William decided that he would invade England and take the throne by force! He advertised all over Europe for soldiers of fortune to join his army and promised great rewards for those who would be prepared to follow! William gathered his military host at a Norman port in the summer and patiently awaited a favourable wind in order to set sail for England’s southern coast!