On this day 943 days ago, William the Conqueror landed at Pevensey Bay in Sussex to launch the last successful invasion of England (if you do not count the Glorious Revolution of 1688). William’s invasion force of 600 ships and 7000 men had set sail to cross the channel from Normandy on 12 September 1066, but they were driven back by a storm. Meanwhile a rival invasion force led by Harald III of Norway had landed near York, so the English King Harold marched his army to York to defeat the invaders on 25 September.
On 27 September the wind conditions became favourable for William’s fleet, and they landed in England the next day, marching to Hastings where they built a prefabricated wooden fort and awaited the arrival of King Harold’s army. Harold’s army, weakened by their recent battle, marched almost 400km from York to Hastings to engage with William’s forces, with the conflict finally occurring on 14 October for a period of nine hours until William’s cavalry and archers finally prevailed over Harold’s foot soldiers.
William’s conquest resulted in French becoming the language of government in England for nearly 300 years. Many elements of Norman culture became permanently included in English culture. William and his descendants ruled an empire which included England and various parts of France, but the right to rule many of these territories remained disputed for the next seven centuries.