Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 359. Play

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It's always nice to have the support of the Apostles. In 1040 England once again had

a new king. But the people were finding Hearthic anute a tough pill to swallow. It had been

a bad sign that when Hearthic anute arrived one of the very first things he did was mutilate

and desecrate King Harold Harefoot's body. I mean that's a risky move to make even when

dealing with an unpopular king. But King Harold Harefoot had enjoyed a reasonable amount

of popularity. He had a lot of initial support, he'd only reign for about five years and

he hadn't done all that much during that time, which meant he hadn't really got around

to offending anyone either. So when Hearthic anute arrived there's a very good chance that

the English looked upon Harold Harefoot fondly or at least benignly. And there are many

ways to make friends, but desecrating a popular corpse isn't one of them. And then Hearthic

anute went one step further. Even though the English had invited him to rule, he still

demanded that they pay a tribute as if they had been conquered. A huge tribute. Which

again is a strange strategy for making pals. Then Hearthic anute went on to snub the inner

...