The Battle of Hastings was a famous battle for the kingdom of England. It happened in October 1066.
In fact, it was two battles, and there were three people in competition for the crown of England. The Saxon king was Harold II. He had been crowned after the death of King Edward the Confessor. The Viking king was Harald. He thought he had a claim to the throne through his Viking ancestry. The Norman claim was made by William, Duke of Normandy. He was not a king for, at that time, Normandy was not part of France. William also had a claim to the throne through his ancestry. He also believed he had been promised the throne by Edward, and also by Harold many years before.
Whose claim was best didn't really matter very much in these times. It was simply who was strongest. In fact, Harold was strongest, but he found himself with a problem. Harald of Norway was about to attack along the north coast near York, while William was getting ready to attack in the southeast. Harold stationed his troops where he thought William might land.
Then William was delayed, and Harald the Viking landed first. This meant that Saxon Harold had to march with his men up to Stamford Bridge near York to do battle with the Vikings. Saxon Harold won that battle, and Vikings never threatened the English shores again. However, William had now made his landing at Pevensey near Hastings.
Saxon Harold could have taken his time before doing battle with William. But he chose to march his army straight down to Hastings without giving his men a long time to rest after the first battle.
This was a remarkable feat, but even so, Harold's men took up position on a hill in the path of William's army just outside Hastings. Being on the top of the hill gave Harold the advantage, because the Normans would have to charge uphill.
During the battle, things were going Harold's way until many of his men decided to charge down the hill after the retreating Normans. Harold could not stop them, and it left part of his line weakened. William then charged again, and in the battle Harold was killed along with many of his senior commanders. As a result, against the odds, it was William who won the Battle of Hastings.
