| Year | Day/Month | Title |
| Edward the Confessor (1042 - 1066) |
|
1052 | May |  Godwines invade England
|
| | Godwine, Earl of Wessex, his son Harold and a large fleet sailed up the Thames to London forcing Edward to reinstate them into their previous positions of power. |
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1053 | | Edward the Exile invited to England
|
| | Harold Godwinson invited the exiled Edward the Exile back to England in the hope that he could claim the English throne from Edward the Confessor. |
|
| Apr | Harold becomes Earl of Wessex
|
| | Godwine, Earl of Wessex, died and Harold inherited his title. |
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1055 | | Rebellion of Aelgar of Mercia
|
| | Aelfgar, earl Mercia was outlawed by the witan. He built a force and allied himself with Welsh Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. They raided Hereford and eventually came to terms with Harold. Aelfgar was later restored.
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1057 | | Edward (the Exile) dies
|
| | Edward the Exile died in mysterious circumstances. Edward was the rightful heir the throne of England and Harold, Earl of Wessex benefited from Edward's death. |
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1062 | Dec | Harold, earl Wessex, attacked Rhuddlan
|
| | Harold led an attack on the stronghold of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn at Rhuddlan in north Wales. The attack was a success but the Welsh Prince managed to escape. |
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1063 | | Earl Harold invades Wales
|
| | Harold invaded south Wales while Tostig of Northumbria attacked the north. |
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1065 | | Mysterious meeting in Normandy
|
| | A mysterious meeting is reported to have taken place in Normandy between William the Conqueror and Harold in 1065. In the meeting it was claimed that Harold agreed that William should become King of England when Edward the Confessor died. From what is known of Harold it seems unlikely that he would agree to something like this. We know that he went against this agreement when assumed the role as King after Edward's death. |
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| William the Conqueror (1066 - 1087) |
|
1066 | Jan 6 | Harold II Godwinson is crowned King of England
|
| | Harold was chosen as king but his reign was not to last very long. |
|
| Jul | Harold prepares for William's invasion
|
| | Harold, King of England, gathered an army and waited on the south coast of England to defend the country against an William's invasion. |
|
| Sep 20 | Battle of Gate Fulford
|
| | Harold Hardrada's forces invaded and started ravaging the countryside as they made their way to York. English forces led by Earl Edwin and Earl Morcar battled with Harold Hardrada at Gate Fulford, but the English were severely beaten. Following this defeat Harold, King of England, was forced to march his army away from the south coast where they were preparing to defend against William the Conqueror's invasion to deal with the invasion in the north. |
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| Sep 25 | Stamford Bridge Battle
|
| | King Harold II defeated the invasion threat from Harold Hardrada, King of Norway and his own brother Tostig, both of whom were killed. This stretched his forces to the limit as they quickly had to march south to defend against William of Normandy's invasion at Hastings. |
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| Oct 1 | Harold learns of William's arrival
|
| | Harold was resting his army in York when he learnt that William had landed on the south coast. |
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| Oct 6 | Harold and his forces reach London
|
| | Harold II had to march south from Stamford Bridge to counter the threat of invasion from William of Normandy. |
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| Oct 11 | Harold leaves London
|
| | Harold left London with an army and headed for the south coast. |
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1068 | Feb | Exeter falls to William
|
| | Although William had defeated Harold at Hastings, Harold's mother Gytha and her forces still had not submitted to William's rule. They held out at Exeter until William broke the defences. William had to take heavy casualties in the confrontation. |
