Who had the best claim to the throne in 1066?

[Mr P J Lee]

Vote for the best claimant to the throne - and justify your selection in the text below - 100 words minimum - remember to include BALANCE if you can.....or at least other comments on the various contenders.

H/W due Wed 6th May.

[Mr P J Lee]

Hardrada was the best choice as he was tough, and wouldn't stand any messing. He also had a blood line - albeit weak - to Canute who had run the country.

[otis]

I think that Harold should be crowned king of england because he is the richest man throughout the land, therefore he can buy land for Peasants. You can also do various other things with money such as, buy re-enforcements, pay for food and bribe the plebs.

Homework 30th May.

[Joe G]

:oI think Edgar should be crowned king of England because he is the closest relative to Edward the confesser.

[ToSLegends]

I think Edgar should be reigned king because Edgar and his father are Edward the Confessors closest living blood relative. But in truth they are pretty distant relatives. In 1054 Edgar and his father were ready at any time to claim the throne and in the same year Edgars' father died in suspicion. Later on when King Edward the confessor died on Christmas Eve in 1065, King Edward gave the throne to Harold Godwin. Prince Edgar of Aetheling should have been king due to another reason being related to Alfred the Great, who was a very popular Anglo-Saxon King, which everyone respected. During the time of King Edward the Confessors death Edgar was only 10 and the witan (60 most richest and most powerful people in the UK who acted just like the house of parliament) thought Prince Edgar of Aetheling was too weak to fight back against the Normans and the Vikings. After Harold Godwin was king he became Harold II but then died in the same year as he was made king during the Battle of Hastings started by William Duke of Normandy. After Harold IIs' death Prince Edgar of Aetheling claimed the throne and became king for only 3 months. When he failed to respond to the Normans attack King Edgars' reign came to a end.

[benj8706]

I think that Edgar should claim the throne because he has the strongest blood ties and is the rightful heir to the throne.
He may only be ten years old and the Watin may not be on his side but he still might have some chance of becoming king.
He also lives in England which is a very big advantage since most of the other claimants aren't from England.

[Dodo Gravy Gecko]

I think that Edgar is the rightful heir to the throne and has the prospect of being as great as his great great... grandfather alfred the great. he may not have the watin on his side. and he may be young (10 to be exact) but who cares he is the rightful leader of england and will be great as (if not greater than) Alfred the great.
The prospect of a new young king was fantastic for allthose who believed in him. not only because of his new adapt way of looking at things, but we could see this kingdom ruled by our little leaders for once.

Who knows.
we could have an edgar the great.

[Hassan]

I think Harald Hardrada should claim the throne because he uses violence to make his point (which is a good thing) but also collects taxes from his people so he has money to pay for the wars he has, which are pretty frequent and also result in him succeeding – which is another good thing. He is also the heir of Magnus which gives him an advantage to being the King of England. Likewise, his claim for the throne was weak, but Harald Hardrada himself didn’t really care, as you can probably guess by the name: ‘Hard’rada meaning tough or strong.

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[Mini Mee Milez]

I think that William Duke of Normandy is the best claiment to the throne because he had already shown great leadership skills being a successful ruler of normandy. He was also the cousin of King Edward the confessor. He also claimed ( like the other claiments) that King Edward had promised him the throne in 1051.

[hollymoseley]

I think that William Duke of Normandy has the best claim to the throne because he was Edwards cousin and he also helped Edward and his family when his father died and they had to flee to Normandy. William also was the ruler of Normandy so he had the experience to make England a great country. As the ruler of Normandy William would have had plenty of money to be able to afford a big army and he was friendly with the people of Wessex. William also claimed to have been promised the throne by two different people (Harold of Wessex and Edward). In summery I think that William Duke of Normandy had the best claim to the throne.
By Holly Moseley ;D

[Chrno]

I think William Duke of Normandy because he has blood relation to Edward, and had been ruler of Normandy. He also had claimed to have been offered the throne by Harold and Edward. This means he had been acknowledged as a worthy ruler by two of said title, even if there are conspiracy theories against it. These theories include trickery from William, as if to place him in a tough spot. And the most important reason would be that he HAD become king (of England). If he hadn't Britain would be very different, for better or for worse, but I do not want to imagine any personality changes or such being a result of it. I'm happy as I am, thank you very much Edgar. You won't win this poll that easily, it's only been 9 votes D:.

[ToSLegends]

Although Edgar is also related to Edward by blood as well, and Edgar does claim the throne after Harolds' death in October 1066.

[Izzie]

Hello, its Isabelle.

I voted for Harold Godwinson because Edward the Confessor apparently announced on his deathbed (in early January, 1066), that Harold should be the new King. Although Harold has not got any royal blood, I think he is most closely related to Edward. What i mean by this, is because Edward married Harold's sister, Edith, in 1045, 3 years after becoming king (in 1042), he probably would've become close friends with Harold so this is most likely why he would have named him as his successor on his deathbed. Also the fact that Harold was actually there at king Edward's deathbed surly must show that they had a very close and loyal relationship. Otherwise why would Harold be at Edwards deathbed with Edith (who Edward cared about deeply) when the rest of Edwards remaining family were not there? Another point in Harold's favor is that he was the son of Earl Godwinson, the most powerful noble in england, so that would automatically give Harold respect and popularity with the country. His considerable wealth and the fact that he was English born and based in England would've also gained him respect and raised his status. The Witan, a collection of high ranking powerful men, also supported Harold, along with the vast majority of the population.

Although there are doubts about the validity of what Edward actually said in his final moments, what he is supposed to have said to Harold is: "I commend my wife and all my kingdom to your care" Harold and his supporters take this to mean that Edward wanted Harold to be the next king of England. His rivals doubted whether he actually said this, and if he did, they interpret this as Edward only meaning for Harold to take care of his wife. There may have been other people at Edwards deathbed, but probably none of them would have been prepared to go up against Harold, as this would almost certainly lead to death. Some people like to believe that Harold was power mad and just wanted to be king. So when he heard news that King Edward was dying, he rushed to be at Edwards side, not out of a love for the king or support for his sister, Edith, but for the ulterior motive of ensuring that he would become king. However, my argument against this theory is that Harold had already been named by Edward as one of his potential successors; supporting the view that Harold was a loyal and trusted friend as all the other successors had strong blood ties to the throne. But perhaps, it was neither the reasons above why he was there, maybe it was just mere coincidence that he was there with Edith and Edward.

I suppose that is a mystery we will never be able to solve (unless we can build a time machine and go back in time, although, if we did, the chances are, they'll think were invading and brutally kill us!) so, thats something we can make our own decisions on.

By Isabelle Harley, 8Q.

[Rawr]

I voted for William the Duke of Normandy because he's experienced with leadership - he was the Duke of Normandy so he should be able to apply his previous knowledge to being the King of England. Of course, there are the differences but they both require similar skills. Besides this, he is also related to King Edward, so he should be the one to claim the throne. Also, he did assist Edward and his family on certain occasions, so Ed should return the favour and give him his rightful position upon the throne of England. Otherwise, he is an ungrateful person (whether he cares or not, I don't really know).

It's true there is little to no solid proof his claim is true but if it is, I think that he should become the next man to lead the country to victory. And there is the experience thing again - he'd previously ruled over Normandy as the Duke so he could've bring that experience to our country. I am disappointed that anyone could even consider denying William as King as he is most likely to make our country successful in future.

It's not as though there aren't other contenders without proof of their claims anyway. I think it would be betrayal to deny his place. There's no proof Harold Godwinson was told by Edward that he would become King either.

He has already proven himself as a good leader for Normandy - it's hardly unwise to select him as King William (or William King of England).

[Izzie]

Ash, stop trying to beat me, mine was most undoubtedly the best by far, like in everything i do, im just pure brilliance, accept it!! lol