After Edward the Confessor's death the game of thrones in England resumed, as the Vikings had been quite enticed by London's strategic location and riches. The Norman duke William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of Wessex in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and declared himself King of England. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey under the name of King William I, establishing the tradition of crowning for all subsequent kings and queens of England. King William I decreed to build a strong new fortress, the Tower of London, and to further secure his power conducted a survey of his kingdom, whose contents were recorded in Domesday Book.
Gradually, the Norman nobility began to force the old Saxons out of the kingdom. The French came in the 12th century, when William's grandson Stephen died childless, and the throne passed on to his French cousin Henry Plantagenet, who was crowned Henry II in 1153. Knights Templar settled in London with the Plantagenets; the Templar order funded the construction of Temple Church in 1185.
Nobility wars in the late 11th century devoured the country, resulting in the creation of Magna Carta in 1215, which limited the power of the king. Structures dating back to this period in London are the Gothic Southwark Cathedral built in 1206 and the restored Westminster Palace, where the first Parliament was created in 1275. King Henry III's successors mostly resided in their Anjou estates in France, but they made an effort to fortify and beautify London anyway. Notably, Richard the Lionheart added fortress walls and turrets to the Tower of London.
The article by Irina Sukharnikova, translation by Ekaterina Ryabova; specially for Sweet Home Abroad
