1The name of two kings of England:
1.1 Harold I (d.1040), reigned 1037–40; known as Harold Harefoot. An illegitimate son of Canute, he acted as regent on his father’s death in 1035 owing to the absence in Denmark of Hardecanute (King of Denmark and Canute’s legitimate heir) and became king two years later.
1.2 Harold II (circa 1019–66), reigned 1066, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. Succeeding Edward the Confessor, he was faced with two invasions within months of his accession. He resisted his half-brother Tostig and the Norse king Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge, but was killed and his army defeated by William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings.