{
  "id": 679547,
  "title": "King Harold may have lost England by backing the wrong pope",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/king-harold-may-have-lost-england-by-backing-the-wrong-pope",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-11T11:30:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ScienceDaily",
    "slug": "sciencedaily",
    "url": "https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260811011129.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A forgotten fragment of a lost papal letter is offering a surprising new explanation for the Norman Conquest. England may have backed the wrong pope during a bitter religious power struggle, giving Pope Alexander II a political reason to support William the Conqueror’s invasion. The discovery suggests Harold’s downfall in 1066 was shaped by intrigue in Rome as well as bloodshed at Hastings.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}