The Anglo-Normans were the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman Conquest, and were primarily a combination of Normans, Frenchmen, Flemings, and Bretons who intermarried with the indigenous Anglo-Saxons and Celtic Britons. A small number of Normans had earlier befriended future Anglo-Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor, during his exile in his mother's homeland of Normandy in northern France. When he returned to England, some of them went with him; as such, there were Normans already settled in England prior to the conquest. Edward's successor, Harold Godwinson, was defeated by Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings, leading to William's accession to the English throne.
Examples of Anglo-Norman elite
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British Constitution. The term may also refer to the role of the royal family within the UK's broader political structure. The current monarch is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
Ministerial folder with the monarch's emblem
The English Bill of Rights of 1689 curtailed the sovereign's governmental power.
In 1603 James VI and I became the first monarch to rule over England, Scotland, and Ireland together.