Harold II was born around 1022 in Wessex, England. He began his political career by supporting King Edmund Ironside, but switched his support to King Cnut when he was made Earl of Wessex. He was involved in a lot of battles over English lands. He was appointed Earl of East Anglia, and then Earl of Hereford. He served under King Edward (The Confessor). He was involved in murder, was shipwrecked, and generally scheming. He was crowned King upon the death of Edward, who had not named a clear successor. He wound up being killed at the Battle of Hastings, having only been king for just over nine months. His death was the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England. There are a couple of rumors about his death, one of which was that he was he was killed via arrow to the eyeball. Another was that he was killed by four knights and his body was dismembered, which is probably more likely.

This book was really good. I thought the research was well done. I learned so much about Harold. I had never covered him in any of my history courses, which seems like a shame and also weird. I really learned a lot about Harold and the Battle of Hastings. This was an enjoyable read.