Harold Godwinson (1022 - October 14, 1066) was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. Upon the death of his brother-in-law King Edward the Confessor, the Witenagemot convened and chose Harold to succeed; he was the first English monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. Harold reigned from January 6, 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England. His death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England. Harold was a powerful earl and member of a prominent Anglo-Saxon family with ties to Cnut the Great. Cassell's Illustrated History of England, 1865 (cropped and cleaned).