Norman conquest[edit] Main article: Norman conquest of England The peace lasted until the death of the childless

Edward in January 1066. His br other-in-law was crowned King Harold, but his cousin William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, immediately claimed the throne for himself. William launched an in vasion of England and landed in Sussex on 28 September 1066. Harold and his army were in York following their victory against the Norwegians at the Battle of St amford Bridge (25 September 1066) when the news reached him. He decided to set o ut without delay and confront the Norman army in Sussex so marched southwards at once, despite the army not being properly rested following the battle with the Norwegians. The armies of Harold and William faced each other at the Battle of H astings (14 October 1066), in which the English army, or Fyrd, was defeated, Har old and his two brothers were slain, and William emerged as victor. William was then able to conquer England with little further opposition. He was not, however , planning to absorb the Kingdom into the Duchy of Normandy. As a mere duke, Wil liam owed allegiance to Philip I of France, whereas in the independent Kingdom o f England he could rule without interference. He was crowned on 25 December 1066 . The sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215 put England on course to become a constit utional monarchy. In 1092, William II led an invasion of Strathclyde, a Celtic kingdom in what is now southwest Scotland and Cumbria. In doing so, he annexed what is now the coun ty of Cumbria to England; this was the last major expansion by England into what is now considered a part of England. Later, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 1542 anne xed Wales to England. In 1124, Henry I ceded what is now southeast Scotland (called Lothian) to the Ki ngdom of Scotland, in return for the King of Scotland's loyalty. This area of la nd had been English since its foundation in 927 AD, and before that had been a p art of the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria. Lothian contained what later became t he Scottish capital, Edinburgh. This arrangement was later finalised in 1237 by the Treaty of York. The Duchy of Aquitaine came into personal union with the Kingdom of England upon the accession of Henry II, who had married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. The K ingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy remained in personal union until 120 4. John Lackland, Henry II's son and fifth-generation descendant of William I, l ost the continental possessions of the Duchy to Philip II of France during that year. A few remnants of Normandy, including the Channel Islands, remained in Joh n's possession, together with most of the Duchy of Aquitaine.