The Saxon King, Edward the Confessor, last of the ancient House of Wessex, died childless on on the stormy night of 4th -5th January, in the momentous year of 1066. On his deathbed Edward was said to have willed his throne to his brother-in-law, Harold Godwineson, Earl of Wessex, having made a previous promise to his maternal cousin, William, Duke of Normandy, that he should inherit the English throne if he died without producing an heir. The Witangemot or Saxon council of wise men, duly elected Harold as King, a decision that was met with fury by Duke William. King Harold II was hastily crowned at the newly consecrated Westminster Abbey on 6th January, 1066.…