Harold becomes King

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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After the death of his father, Cnut, in 1035, his legitimate son Harthacnut was the most obvious successor. However, he was occupied with the responsibility of ruling his Danish kingdom, so his half-brother Harold "Harefoot" was offered, initially as regent, in his place. His crown was never secure, threatened by challenges from the sons of Aethelred "the Unready"; when he died in 1040, Harthacnut was preparing an invasion force.

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Harold becomes King". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1947, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1947 Harold becomes King 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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