- A newly examined letter from Pope Alexander II reveals that a power struggle between rival popes in Rome helped shape the 1066 Norman Conquest of England.
- The discovery suggests that England supported rival papal candidate Honorius II, prompting Pope Alexander II to give religious backing to William the Conqueror's invasion.
- Professor Tom Licence of the University of East Anglia identified excerpts of the lost letter within medieval canon law collections in the Vatican archives.
- The findings reframe the Battle of Hastings from a simple English succession dispute into part of a wider European religious conflict.
- The letter explains why Pope Alexander II sanctioned the violent overthrow of King Harold Godwinson, providing political legitimacy to the invasion.
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