The year 1066 began with the death of a king, and ended with a shout and a trembling new monarch. When the English king Edward the Confessor died on 5 January 1066, no fixed procedures were in place to decide who should succeed him on the throne.

The Witan (a council of wise men) had to make the decision, and they had four candidates to choose from Edgar the Atheling, a sickly14 year old boy. Harold Godwinson, powerful noble in England, a good soldier and a gifted politician. William juke of Normandy, a distant cousin of Edward the Confessor, over the sea in France. Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and a direct descendant of the kings of England. He was related to King Canute, the King of England from 1016-1032.
Harald Hardrada attempted to invade England, and once Harold Godwinson heard about this he gathered as many soldiers as he could and set off 187 miles north to where Harald Hardrada was at Stamford bridge. On September 25th 1066 the battle took place, It was a bloody battle and one in which Harold's army (the Saxons) broke through the Viking invaders front line to go on and win the battle. It was such a fierce battle that only twenty four of the three hundred ships, that came to England carry the 8,000 soldiers, returned to Norway. King Harold's celebrations of victory were cut short as news came of the impending Norman invasion and no-one was left along the south coast of England to stop them. The Saxon army raced back south to face the Norman invaders.
William laid claim to the English throne after Edward died. He was a distant cousin of Edward and said that Edward had promised him the throne when visiting France in 1051. He even said his claim had been accepted by Harold Godwinson in 1064, when Harold had been blown onto the Norman shore by a storm. William invaded England to become King and claim the throne from Harold.
The Norman Invasion started when William, Duke of Normandy's 7,000 soldiers landed at Pevensey on the morning of the 28th September 1066, only two days after the battle at Stamford Bridge had occurred. Harold and William's armies met on Senlac Hill, seven miles (10 km) from Hastings. Harold was at a disadvantage when he saw William had more soldiers, but just as William thought he was going to win Harold set up his defence at the top of Senlac Hill. This gave him an advantage over William as the Normans would have to fight up a hill wearing heavy chain mail armour. The Normans ran up hill whilst the English hurled axes and other objects down at them. At first the Normans were unable to pierce through the massed ranks of the English infantry. For six hours until late afternoon the English seemed like they were going to win. The Normans charged again and again, but they couldn't break through the Saxon shield wall and had to go back down the hill again. Then the Saxons made their fatal mistake. Late afternoon some of Harold's men broke their shield wall to chase the Normans, who they thought were retreating. This was to be their biggest mistake because no sooner had the Normans reached the bottom of the hill; they turned round and cut the English to bits. There were many reasons why William juke of Normandy won the battle William’s army had time to rest before the battle. Harold Godwinson's army was tired and they did not have time to prepare properly for the battle. The English army had already fought the Battle of Stamford Bridge that day and had to march quickly down to the battlefield outside Hastings. They marched 50 miles a day! William's army was stronger. He had better trained soldiers and had the use of a strong cavalry (men on horseback) and archers whereas Harold did not. William's army pretended to flee. Many of Harold's men broke their shield wall to chase after them but as they did William and his army turned back and slaughtered them. After the Battle of Hastings, William still had to conquer England. He marched from Hastings, crossing the Thames at Wallingford and then on towards London. At Berkhamsted he received the surrender of the city. William took hostages to ensure that the surrender was kept.
Harold Godwinson died when an arrow pierced his eye during the battle of Hastings. King Harold accepted a truce with the surviving Norwegians, including Hardrada's son Olaf and they were allowed to leave after giving pledges not to attack England again. This battle marked the end of the era of full scale invasions of England from the Vikings of Scandinavia.