Golden Tours TV - The Battle of Hastings | A Tour Guides View

Golden Tours TV is a series of videos discussing some of the places and fantastic destinations our tours visit, for you to both enjoy and to provide some inspiration for when you plan your next trip.

Today, we are taking a journey back to 1066, one of England’s most important years in its history. The year of the Battle of Hastings and the fight for the crown. Now I am sure you have all heard of the Battle of Hasting, but do you know why the battle started, or even why it is such an important event in English history? Do you know who won? Well it all began at start of the year 1066, when the King of England, Edward the confessor passed away.

See the problem with Edward was he didn’t have any children, meaning there was no heir to the throne. So his death in January of 1066 created a power vacuum because anyone and everyone wanted to be the new king. And I’m sure many of you Game of Thrones fans out there will know that these decisions are rarely made with a civilised discussion over a pot of tea.

With Edward on his death bed and no heir, there were three main rivals for the throne; Viking King Harold Hardrada, William the Duke of Normandy and a wealthy Englishman Harold Godwinson. Now, if you have a strong enough claim to the throne you will need two things. An army to support your claim and fight anyone who opposes you and money in order to fund the army! It is also important to create alliances between other noble houses by offering them land, money and titles. Many people would see this as an opportunity to move up in the world. If they could side with the right house, they would be rewarded for their efforts. If not, well you’d probably end up dead.

Want to find out more? Join us as we guide you through the twists and turns in the battle for the throne.

With Credit and Special Thanks to English Heritage and Royal Collection Trust

“March into 1066: The Story So Far”, by English Heritage
“Experience Battle Abbey: 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings”, by English Heritage
“Why William Won at the Battle of Hastings 1066 | Animated History”, by English Heritage
“Harold vs William - Whose Crown? | Animated History”, by English Heritage
“1066 The Year of the Normans Trailer”, by English Heritage
“A Brief History of the Normans | Animated History”,by English Heritage
“The Queen and European royals attend Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle”, by The Royal Family Channel
“Windsor Castle”, by Royal Collection Trust
“The 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings: Norman infantry training”, by Денис Сухино-Хоменко, licensed under CC BY 3.0
“The 950th anniversary of the battle of Hastings: a re-enactment”, by Денис Сухино-Хоменко, licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Rise and Fall of the Anglo Saxons - Thrones of Britannia”, by Total War, licensed under CC BY 3.0
“02 - Battle of Hastings - Norman cavalry exhibition”, by Sebastian B., licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Gold Price 2020 Forecast -- Will Gold Price Go Through The Roof ?”, by The Atlantis Report, licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Vikingship Lofotr: Approaching the Coast (July 2015)”, by b3rnd0210, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sodacan, Inkscape, Arms of William the Conqueror (1066-1087), CC BY-SA 3.0
“Fishpool gold coins, April 28, 2009”, by Lawrence OP, Licensed under CC BY 2.0
“[No Copyright Music] Odin - (Royalty Free Epic Music)”, by Royalty Free Zone - No Copyright Music, licensed under CC BY 4.0