Who were next in line after Edward the Confessor?

Answer 1

In the year 1066, there were four people who held, or claimed, the title "King of England." Edward the Confessor had been King since 8th June 1042, and he died on 5th January 1066. He was immediately succeeded by Harold Godwinson, a powerful nobleman from the House of Wessex. Harold claimed that Edward the Confessor had promised the Crown to him. William, Duke of Normandy, also claimed that Edward had promised the Crown to him - both claims may be true, it is possible that Edward had made the same promise to both men. In October 1066, William of Normandy invaded England and famously defeated and killed Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066. He not only proclaimed himself King, but claimed ownership of all the land in England "by right of conquest." The Wittan, an early forerunner of Parliament, claimed that Edgar the Atheling, a grandson of an earlier English King, should inherit the Crown, but accepted William as King a few weeks after the Battle. William's coronation as King William I, took place on Christmas Day 1066.