On this day 942 years ago, William the Conqueror invaded England. This was the last successful conquest of England, although the Glorious Revolution of 1688 was technically the most recent invasion of England, even if it was a bloodless coup done at the request of a number of prominent English people in order to oust an unpopular king. William the Conqueror led an army of Normans to victory against the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings.
King Edward the Confessor had died childless on 5 January 1066, leaving three claimants to the throne – Harold Godwinson who was the Earl of Wessex, Harald Hadråda who was king of Norway, and William who was Duke of Normandy. In accordance with the provisions of Edward’s will, Harold was crowned king in January 1066. William began to gather an army in Normandy to attack England, and Harold gathered an army to defend. The invasion was delayed for several weeks, and Harold’s army dwindled away.
Meanwhile, King Harald III of Norway had landed near York, and Harold had to take the army to chase him away. This gave William the opportunity to land unopposed and make extensive preparations for the Battle of Hastings, which took place on 14 October 1066. Harold was killed by an arrow during the battle. William became King William I of England, and his reign resulted in significant changes to politics and law in England as well as the introduction of numerous French words to the English language.