In nine short hours, William the Conqueror triumphed at the Battle of Hastings - and England was changed forever. Simon Schama recounts the saga of blood, betrayal and ambition that led up to this pivotal battle and describes the profound consequences that followed.

Simon Schama begins his history of Britain at the miraculously preserved Stone Age cottages of Skara Brae in Orkney and then moves on to the world of Anglo-Saxon England.

1066 is not the best remembered date in British history for nothing. In the space of nine hours whilst the Battle of Hastings raged, everything changed. Anglo-Saxon England became Norman and, for the next 300 years, its fate was decided by dynasties of French rulers

Michael Wood argues that the most important and influential British kings were a father, son and grandson who lived over a thousand years ago during the age of the Vikings.

King Alfred the Great fights a desperate guerrilla war in the marshes of Somerset - burning the cakes on the way - before his decisive victory at Edington.

In this second episode, Alfred's children continue the family plan to create a kingdom of all the English.

In this third episode, Alfred's grandson Aethelstan fulfils the family plan and creates a kingdom of all England.