You can help us keep making these videos by supporting us via Patron: https://www.patreon.com/historybox Harold I or Harold Harefoot was King of England from November 1035 to March 1040, for just over four years, or around 52 months. He was the second son of the mighty King Canute who was King of England, Norway and Denmark and who we covered in our previous video. We don’t know when King Harold was born exactly, but it could have been around 1015, around about the time his father Canute was crowned king of England. So why was there opposition to his being king and also, why was he called Harold Harefoot? Well, his father King Canute had two wives because later in his reign, he married Emma of Normandy - the younger sister of the Duke of Normandy and the wife of a previous king AEthelred the Unready. We don’t know if Harold’s mother AElfgifu was his wife, or his mistress. It’s possible AElfgifu was his wife, but under pagan rites, whereas Emma was his wife under Christian law. Nevertheless Canute’s union with AElfgifu produced two boys - Sweyn, who would rule as King of Norway and Harold. Canute’s marriage to Queen Emma produced another son, Harthacanute, born about three years after Harold. Because Emma was the Queen when Canute died, it was considered that Harthacanute - then around 17 - was the rightful heir to the English throne … not Harold. When Canute died in 1035, it was expected that Harthacanute would be crowned king of Denmark and England. So that’s why there was opposition to Harold being crowned. Only Harthacanute, as King of Denmark was actually IN Denmark at the time. He was unable to get to his own coronation because his Danish kingdom was being threatened with invasion, so he had to stay put. While everyone was waiting for Harthacanute Harold, quick as a flash - or as quick as a hare - galloped down to the witan (a kind of Anglo-Saxon court of noblemen) to stake his claim, alongside his mother AElfgifu who was there to certify his legitimacy. It appears that the Witan decided to install Harold as the King, though it’s possible he was just a regent who would rule on behalf of his brother until Harthacanute could show up. Then as now, it’s a legal requirement for Kings and Queens of England to be crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. AEthelnoth, the Archbishop of Canterbury, agreed to crown him, but refused to use the official royal regalia. This meant that for Harold, being crowned turned out to be a bit of an empty gesture. The new King took his frustrations out by rejecting Christianity and refusing to attend church services. To add insult to injury many of the leading nobles in England refused to recognise him as king - chief among those were Godwin of Wessex, a powerful Earl whose son Harold II would eventually be the last Wessex King of England before his defeat at the Battle of Hastings, something we’ll cover in a later video. The result of all this was that while Harold Harefoot ruled the north of England, the nobility initially said that Harthacanute was the king in the south. In time though, when it was clear Harthacanute wasn’t coming and that support for Harold was growing, the southern nobles switched sides and supported Harold. During this time Harthacanute’s mother Emma of Normandy was more of less confined to Winchester. As mentioned, she had previously been married to the Wessex King AEthelred the Unready and this marriage had produced two sons - Edward, who would later be King of England and Alfred. Both sons remained in exile in Normandy during Harold’s reign, probably for their own safety. But in 1036 the two brothers received a letter from their mother in Winchester inviting them back to England. There is some dispute about whether the letter was really from Emma, or whether it was a ruse by Harold to lure and entrap the two brothers. Ending the life of the two eldest sons of the former Queen, perhaps would have drawn a line under any challenges to Harold’s rule from that side. Whether or not the letter was genuine, Edward and AElfred nevertheless made their way to England with their respective armies. Edward carried out a raid on Southampton and returned to Normandy with his treasure. It appears that AElfred on the other hand was met by Godwin of Wessex, taken to King Harold and blinded - in those days being blinded immediately removed your right to be king. However, AElfred’s wounds were so severe, he died soon afterwards. He died in March 1040 in Oxford and was buried in Westminster Abbey, although this didn’t last long. Harold’s body was recovered by some fishermen and a group of resident Danes in London buried him in St Clement Danes Church at the end of Fleet Street. #history, #historyfacts #KingsAndQueens #Royalty #anglosaxons #wessex #englishhistory #britishhistory #anglosaxonbritain #animation #celtic #king #queen #kings #queens #learning

• published: 02 May 2022
• views: 12531