John of Worcester. 08 Sep 1069. Before the Nativity of St. Mary [8th September] Harold (age 29) and [his brother] Canute (age 27), sons of Sweyn (age 50), king of Denmark, and their uncle, earl Asbiorn, with earl Thurkill, arriving from Denmark with two hundred and forty ships, landed at the mouth of the river Humber, where they were met by Edgar (age 18) the etheling, earl Waltheof, Marlesweyn, and many others, with a fleet they had assembled. Aldred, archbishop of York, was so distressed at their arrival, that he fell dangerously sick, and departed this life, as he besought of God, on Friday the third of the ides [the 11th] of September, in the tenth year after he became archbishop, and was buried in the church of St. Peter on the eighth day afterwards, namely, on Saturday the thirteenth of the calends of October [19th September]. The Normans, who garrisoned the forts, set fire to the adjacent houses, fearing that they might be of service to the Danes in filling up the trenches; and the flames spreading, destroyed the whole city, together with the monastery of St. Peter. But they were speedily punished for this by an infliction of the divine vengeance; for on Monday the Danish fleet arrived before the city was entirely consumed, and the forts being stormed the same day, and more than three thousand of the Normans killed (the lives of William Malet and his wife and two children, with very few others, being spared), the ships drew off laden with plunder.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1076. This year died [his father] Sweyne, King of Denmark (age 57); and Harold (age 36) his son took to the kingdom. And the king (age 48) gave the abbacy of Westminster to Abbot Vitalis, who had been Abbot of Bernay.