King Harold Godwinson, the defeated King of England, arrived with a refugee fleet in the New World in late 1066 AD. He was aiming for the Icelandic settlement in Vinland, but was blown off course, entering King Harold's Bay (what we know as the Chesapeake Bay). The fleet made landfall and the King declared the foundation of a new kingdom on December 31, 1066. The kingdom was dubbed Nessex (much as Wessex means West Saxons, Sussex means South Saxons, Nessex means New Saxons, i.e., New World Saxons).

The first settlement was called Kingston (where in our world Baltimore lies) and grew over the last 64 years into a city of 8000 people. Immigration to the kingdom has been rapid and constant. The reaction of the native English to Norman rule in England caused large numbers of English to emigrate to the New World. Likewise, adventurers and younger sons of the knightly and noble classes found the New World a place to follow dreams of glory. Landless farmers and refugees found the idea of vacant land appealing as well. Immigration accelerated after King Godwin discovered an Atlantean Ruin in 1072 and recovered a large store of gold, which he used to shore up the defenses of the kingdom (including the stone walls around Kingston) and to spread the word of the riches of the new lands.

Outside of Kingston, a number of Earldoms or Shires have arisen. Each is about 30 miles by 30 miles (so one can reach the center from the border or border from the center in a single day). These are concentrated in what we would call central Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania. Each shire is composed of a number of Hundreds, each will 100 Hides dedicated to 100 individual farmsteads, plus an estate for the Lord or Thane, and a parish church. Each Hundred is about 25 square miles (so one can reach the edge from the center or center from the edge in less than an hour).

After King Godwin presented a notable gift of gold to the pope, coincidentally, the bishop of Kingston was elevated to the position of Archbishop of the New World, and oversees all the bishops of Nessex and Vinland, and various Welsh, Scottish and Irish settlements between them. Each one of the shires of Nessex has its own bishop and each Hundred has its own parish priest.

• King Harold I: 1066-1070 AD
• King Godwin: 1070-1091 AD
• King Harold II: 1091-1102 AD
• King Edwin: 1102-1105 AD
• King Edmund: 1105-1120 AD
• King Harold III: 1120 AD to the present