As a nine-year-old boy, in 1013, Edward had seen England conquered by the Danes. He had fled to Normandy, his mother's homeland, where he spent 28 years in exile, while England was ruled by Danish kings. In Normandy, Edward was greatly impressed by the new Romanesque style of architecture. Romanesque churches were massive, with thick walls, bulky piers (pillars), small windows with rounded arches and tall, chunky, square towers. The rebuilding of Westminster Abbey would give Edward the chance to introduce this new grand style to England.

During his exile, Edward vowed to St Peter that, if he regained his kingdom, he would go on a thanksgiving pilgrimage to the saint's tomb in Rome. On becoming king in 1042, Edward was dissuaded by his council from going on the pilgrimage, and he asked the Pope to release him from his vow. The Pope agreed on condition that Edward restored the abbey of St Peter at Westminster. Edward was happy to do this and he settled in Westminster, where he built a new palace.

To the east of the old monastery church, Edward constructed a huge Romanesque building. Little remains of this church above ground level, yet excavations show that it was 322ft (98.2m) long, making it one of the biggest churches in Europe at the time. The abbey grew until it was home to around 80 monks.

Edward's church was completed and dedicated on December 28, 1065, but the King was too sick to attend. He died a few days later, and was buried in the abbey on January 6, 1066. His funeral procession to Westminster is shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, which also shows the new church, with its tall tower and columns. On the roof, you can see a craftsman setting up a cockerel-shaped weather vane, the finishing touch to the building work.

The Norman conquest

Edward died without an heir, and the crown was fought over by his brother-in-law, Harold of Wessex, and his cousin, Duke William of Normandy, who each claimed to have been promised the throne.

William and the Normans invaded England, defeating and killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on October 14. To show that he was Edward's rightful heir, William chose to be crowned in the Confessor's church, on Christmas Day, 1066. With the exceptions of Edward V and Edward VIII, who did not reign long enough for coronations, every English monarch since 1066 has been crowned in Westminster Abbey.

Find out more about William the Conqueror and his survey of England, the Domesday Book, here

Making a saint

Edward the Confessor had a reputation for holiness and, soon after his death, incidents of miraculous healing began to be reported at his tomb. In 1102, the tomb was opened and his body found to be perfectly preserved - taken as further evidence of his sanctity. From 1138, Osbert de Clare, a Westminster monk who believed that he had been cured of a disease by Edward, spent 30 years campaigning for the King to be made a saint.

In 1154, the first Plantagenet king, Henry II, came to the throne. Although he was French, his mother, Matilda, was descended from Alfred the Great and the royal line of Wessex. So, unlike the previous Norman kings, Henry could claim a close blood relationship with Edward the Confessor. Seeing the advantage of having a saint in the family, he backed Osbert de Clare's campaign to canonise his relative. On February 7, 1161, the Pope declared that Edward was a saint.

On October 13, 1163, Edward's body was removed from its tomb and placed in a shrine decorated with gold and silver before Westminster Abbey's high altar. Edward the Confessor had now become the patron saint of the English monarchy, and a symbol of reconciliation between the Norman-French conquerors and the native English.

Today, Edward is the only English saint whose body remains in its shrine.