He was holding my nephew hostage and said he would only be released if I swore to be loyal to him. Edward stayed in Normandy until he became King of England in It was important, at that time, for Edward to protect his throne from attack and rebellion. Edward turned to me for help. I sent Norman soldiers to live in England and protect Edward. In return, Edward promised the English throne. In September of that year he successfully fought off an attack by one rival claimant to the throne, Harald Hardrada.
But less than three weeks later he was killed in battle with another claimant: William the Conqueror. William, Duke of Normandy, believed that Edward had promised him the English throne long before Harold. After arriving at the Sussex coast in September , William and his men had their confrontation with Harold on 14 October.
After winning what became known as the Battle of Hastings , William was crowned king on Christmas Day. Just a teenager when Edward died, Edgar had also spent the early years of his life in exile in Hungary and was not considered politically strong enough to hold the country together.
He did, however, join forces with the king of Denmark in to launch an attack on William. Edward the Confessor died childless on 5th January , leaving no direct heir to the throne. Four people all thought they had a legitimate right to be king. The claims that they made were connected to three main factors: family ties, promises made, and political realities.
All four claimants had some promise that they believed gave them a right to the English throne. These involved the swearing of oaths, which were taken very seriously in 11th century Europe. Harold Godwinson almost certainly had the latest promise from the dying king himself, Edward the Confessor. William of Normandy probably had a promise in from Edward the Confessor, and a promise from the main contender, Harold. The oath Harold swore to William was considered invalid by the Witan because it was made under the threat of death.
Edgar Atheling had the strongest blood tie — but blood ties were not essential for the succession to the English throne at this time. All the claimants had some kind of family blood tie, except for Harald Hardrada.
Strongest claim: Edgar Atheling was the last surviving member of the Royal House of Wessex that had ruled England for centuries. All the claimants had a strong degree of political power in , except for Edgar Atheling.
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