Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson (c. 1022 – 14 October 1066) was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror.

Harold was a powerful earl and member of a prominent Anglo-Saxon family with ties to King Canute the Great. Upon the death of Edward the Confessor in January 1066, the Witenagemot convened and chose Harold to succeed; he was crowned in Westminster Abbey. In late September he successfully repelled an invasion by rival claimant Harald Hardrada of Norway, before marching his army back south to meet William the Conqueror at Hastings some two weeks later.

Harold Godwinson in Atlantis
When living in Hastings, fisherman Edward Radcliffe was reminded, by the sight of the nearby castle, of the great battle of four centuries earlier. While the Plantagenets held the English throne, no one would say he wished the Saxons had won in 1066. Nevertheless, Radcliffe often wondered what 15th-century England would be like had Harold prevailed over William. He knew things would be different.