Harold ( 1067 – 1098) was a son of

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

, King of England. He was driven into exile by the Norman conquest of England, and found refuge at the court of the king of Norway.

Birth and parentage

Harold's family was one of the most powerful in Anglo-Saxon England: his paternal grandfather was

Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the ...

, and his father was

, who inherited the same title and was crowned king of England at the beginning of 1066. Harold Godwinson's first wife, whom he married in a form of ceremony not recognized by the church, was called Edith Swan-neck, and his second wife was

Ealdgyth The name Ealdgyth ( ang, Ealdgȳð; sometimes modernized to Aldith, may refer to * Ealdgyth, daughter of Uhtred the Bold, Earl of Northumbria (died 1016) and Ælfgifu who is a daughter of Æthelred II * Ealdgyth (floruit 1015–1016) (born c. 9 ...

, sister of the earls

Edwin The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (die ...

and

Morcar Morcar (or Morkere) ( ang, Mōrcǣr) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced by William the Conqueror with Copsi. Dispute with t ...

. Historians almost unanimously believe Ealdgyth was Harold's mother, though Ealdgyth's biographer in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' only concedes that this is "not impossible". Harold was probably born posthumously in Chester, where his mother had fled to escape the advancing army of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. It has been argued that he was a twin of Ulf Haroldson, but this is considered doubtful.

Exile

In the winter of 1069–1070 Chester was occupied by the Normans, but presumably Ealdgyth and her young son had fled by that time, and her most obvious refuge would be the Norse-Irish city of Dublin, which had previously sheltered other members of Harold's family. At some point Harold sailed to Norway and was welcomed by the king, whose family remembered with gratitude Harold Godwinson's generosity in allowing

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

, son of Harald Hardrada, to return home after the disastrous

battle of Stamford Bridge The Battle of Stamford Bridge ( ang, Gefeoht æt Stanfordbrycge) took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading No ...

. In 1098 he was one of the men Magnus III Barelegs took with him on an expedition to Orkney, the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. No further mention of Harold appears in any source.

Footnotes

References

* * * {{cite book , last1=Walker , first1=Ian W. , year=2010 , title=Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King , location=Stroud , publisher=History Press , isbn=9780750937634 1060s births Anglo-Norse people Anglo-Saxon warriors English expatriates in Norway House of Godwin Norman conquest of England Year of death unknown Sons of kings