Okay a few things here.
Finally I am completely baffled as to the ability and purpose of an English invasion of Italy. Look at the preparations required to ship Henry I's army from England to the Holy Land in both logistics and expense. And that was for a Holy War. Even if the Byzantines cared at all about an alliance with some island off in the sticks, I can't see how they could practically help. If you want to play off an Anglo-Saxon attack on Sicily.... but it's more believable as mercenaries because then the people already there are paying expenses. Say the Anglo-Saxons get hired by the Normans for some reason and then they take over. Irony
ED: Also if the initial Brit unification is rocky as certain things your wrote seem to indicate, wouldn't it be extremely risky to force them to contribute or weaken yourself to go on a huge expedition on the other side of the continent? Even if successful?
I'd like to know more about how this happens. Also aren't the Irish Vikings basically Irish culturally by now as well? As for the unification of Ireland/Scotland/England. I don't see any incentive to unification here (even if it's just in name in Ireland). I'd also like more details on the army changes. Housecarls ride to battle then fight on foot with heavy armor and axes right? They are the same guys that ran off to become Varangians for Alexius I. Fighting on a horse is a very different set of skills so take care to not make them too effective to quickly.1068-1073: Harold II forms alliances with the remaining independent/autonomous regions of *England and with former Viking settlements in *Ireland, further unifying the kingdom
Finally I am completely baffled as to the ability and purpose of an English invasion of Italy. Look at the preparations required to ship Henry I's army from England to the Holy Land in both logistics and expense. And that was for a Holy War. Even if the Byzantines cared at all about an alliance with some island off in the sticks, I can't see how they could practically help. If you want to play off an Anglo-Saxon attack on Sicily.... but it's more believable as mercenaries because then the people already there are paying expenses. Say the Anglo-Saxons get hired by the Normans for some reason and then they take over. Irony
ED: Also if the initial Brit unification is rocky as certain things your wrote seem to indicate, wouldn't it be extremely risky to force them to contribute or weaken yourself to go on a huge expedition on the other side of the continent? Even if successful?