As we know, Harold Godwinson- alledged to relate distantly to King Athelred I (older brother of Alfred the Great)- had several sons and daughters by Edith
Swanneck, a mysterious English noble lady who was his handfast wife. Two
or three of their sons tried to invade England in 1068 only to be
bloodily repulsed (ironically) by men who had served their father.
Another
child (son?) was in the womb of Harold's official wife, Eadgyth
Leofricson, the sister of earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of
Northumbria, at the time of the doomed battle of 'Hastings' on 14th October, 1066. But after the surviving Godwinson family
fled abroad to Europe after 1066, what became of them, and their descendants?
We can't know if any of his sons sired issue, but one
of Harold's daughters, Gytha, had over 7 or 8 children by her Russian
husband, Prince Vladimir of Smolensk. Just one of the lineages through
their many issue seems to have gone-
King Harold II Godwinson, father of:
Gytha of Wessex, mother of:
Grand Duke Mstislav I of Kiev, father of:
Euphrosyne, mother of:
King Bela III Arpad of Hungary, father of:
King Andras II of Hungary, father of:
Yolanda (Violante) of Hungary, mother of:
Isabella of Aragon, mother of:
King Philippe IV of France, father of:
Isabella of France, mother of:
King Edward III of England
Via Harold's descendents, the 'English' monarchy thus eventually came full circle?
