Who had the best claim to the crown of England in 1066?

1. ho hould e ing? L.O.: Understand why there were many claimants to the crown in 1066

2. You will need a pen and paper to take notes in this lesson, or you can use an online post-it notepad.

3. t is the year 1066. King Edward the Confessor has died. He has left no heir. England faces a crisis - there is no clear candidate for king. Your Task. You are a member of the Council called the Witan it is your job to chose a new king. Keyword: heir – the next in line

4. hat kind of man do you need? What qualities must a king have? TASK – Complete this paragraph! I think that a good king of England should be …… He should also be …… because …… Another good quality would be ……. .The reason for this is because …..

6. hich qualities are the most important? Try to rank the 4 key qualities in order of importance. Put ‘1’ next to the most important quality, ‘2’ next to the second-most important, and so on….

7. he andidates

8. Harold Godwinson Harald Hardraada William of Normandy Edgar Atheling

9. arold odwinson

10. arold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was the late king’s brother-in-law. He claimed that he had been given the crown on Edward’s death bed. He was an experienced warrior and had been Earl of Wessex for many years. But he was believed to have murdered Edward’s brother!

11. illiam of ormandy

12. illiam, Duke of Normandy claimed that Edward had promised him the crown of England when Edward died. He also claimed that Harold Godwinson had sworn to support his claim to the throne. William said Harold had sworn on the bones of a saint to help William become the next king of England. Keywords: sworn - promised

13. Harold swears a holy oath Keyword: oath – a very special promise

14. arald ardraada

15. In 1016 England had a Viking king called King Cnut. He was also King of Norway and Denmark. King Cnut’s family ruled England until 1042 when Edward the Confessor took the throne. King Cnut’s heirs said they were the real Kings of England. Harald Hardraada was Cnut’s heir.

16. t the Age of 51, Harald Hardraada was the most renowned soldier of the Age.” " Keyword: renowned – famous and respected

17. dgar theling

18. dgar Ætheling was the son of Edward the Confessor’s dead brother. He was born hundreds of miles away in Hungary, but brought over to England and raised by Edward as a son. But when Edward died Edgar was only 14 years old.

19. hoose ing

20. Harold Godwinson Harald Hardraada William of Normandy Edgar Ætheling

21. Task: Use this to help you write about your choice. Do this before moving on to the next slide. In my opinion, ……………… should be the next king of England. He has many good qualities, such as ……… Also, my choice has another good quality …… I think he would make a better king than ………… because ……… The other contenders are not as good because ……..

22. Harold Godwinson If you chose Harold Godwinson well done! Give yourself 10/10. Harold was the Witan’s choice. He was English and an experienced soldier. He understood how England should be governed.

23. Harald Hardraada If you chose Harald give yourself 7/10. He was a great warrior and an experienced ruler. But to the English he was a foreigner and they didn’t want to be ruled by a foreigner.

24. William of Normandy If you chose William give yourself 7/10. He was an experienced ruler and a skilled warrior but like Harald Hardraada he was a foreigner.

25. Edgar Ætheling If you chose Edgar give yourself 3/10. Although Edgar was a relative he was far too young to make a good king.