Who should be the next king of England?L/O – To identify who the three contenders for the throne were and to assess the strengths and weakness of each

person

Starter – Which group of invaders changed Britain the most?

The Death of Edward: Who will be the Next King?Success Criteria:

1. Give a reason as to who should be the next King.

2. Give a reason as to who should be the next King and explain it.

3. Give a reason as to who should be the next King and explain why WITH a detailed justification.

The Succession Crisis: 1066On January 4 1066 King Edward the Confessor died of illness and old age. England had to find a new king.

Normally there would not have been a problem. According to the usual laws of succession, when an old king died he was succeeded by his eldest son.Unfortunately, Edward the Confessor had no son. Although he had been married, he was an intensely pious man and had taken a vow of chastity. The question of who should be the next king was therefore a matter for dispute.

Why might this cause trouble in England?

The ContendersThere were three main rivals for the throne.

The Contenders

The Battle for SuccessionEach of the contenders for the throne had to appear before the Witenagemot and present their claim. The Witenagemot was a kind of parliament made up of the noblemen and senior clergy. In the absence of a clear successor, these men had the power to elect a new king.

On the next three slides you will learn more about each contender’s claim to the throne. The claims were based on two main factors: 1. the relationship of each man to the late King

Edward 2. the promises and treaties which had allegedly been

made about who should be the next king.

Harold Godwinson’s Claim

William of Normandy’s Claim

Harald Hardraada’s Claim

Time to Vote!

Who will be the Next King?

• I think that ……… should be King because…....

• Success Criteria:

1. Give a reason as to who should be the next King.

2. Give a reason as to who should be the next King and explain it.

3. Give a reason as to who should be the next King and explain why WITH a detailed justification.

QUIZ!

Plenary

1. Who were the 3 contenders for the throne?2. What was the Witenagemot?

3. Who had the best claim to the throne?4. Who had the worst claim to the throne?

5. Who actually became the next king?

Did we meet our learning objective?L/O – To identify who the three contenders for the throne were and to assess the strengths and weakness of each

person