Coronation of William the Conqueror

Timeline

1. 1066Berkhamsted · HertfordshireAfter Hastings, William marched north and besieged London. In November at Berkhamsted, Archbishop Stigand of England, Archbishop Aldred of York, and leading nobles swore fealty to William. In December William entered London and built a castle on the outskirts of Westminster to control the capital.
2. 1066Westminster Abbey · LondonOn Christmas Day, Archbishop Aldred of York anointed and crowned William at Westminster. Norman guards mistook the cheers for a signal of riot and set fires outside the church, causing chaos, but the ceremony was ultimately completed. William swore in both French and English to uphold English laws and the privileges of the Church, seeking to appease the conquered Anglo-Saxon elite.
3. 1066–1067England · EnglandAfter his coronation, William granted lands to Norman nobles, retained some Anglo-Saxon landowners to maintain governance, and built castles in London, Winchester, and elsewhere. In early 1067 he briefly returned to Normandy to handle duchy affairs, leaving William FitzOsbern and others as regents, as the Norman Conquest shifted from military occupation to institutional rule.