He was driven into exile by the Norman conquest of England, and found refuge at the court of the king of Norway.
[8] Harold was probably born posthumously in Chester, where his mother had fled to escape the advancing army of William the Conqueror.
[7] By late 1069, Chester was occupied by the Normans, but presumably Ealdgyth and her young son had fled by that time, and her most obvious refuge would be the Norse-Irish city of Dublin, which had previously sheltered other members of Harold's family.
[10][11] At some point Harold sailed to Norway and was welcomed by the king, whose family remembered with gratitude Harold Godwinson's generosity in allowing Olaf, son of Harald Hardrada, to return home after the disastrous battle of Stamford Bridge.
[12] In 1098 he was one of the men Magnus III Barelegs took with him on an expedition to Orkney, the Hebrides, the Isle of Man and Anglesey.