The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word HAROLD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
A
R
O
L
D
More clues leading to the result HAROLD
- A king in control? Not after 1066!
- Leader in Hastings, a king from a long time ago?
- A king in control — in 1066?
- Who had an eyeful of almost erect veteran?
- Battle victim – may he just have seen the one that got him?
- Had list within; left out name of two English kings
- Defeated king had to admit diminished function
- Defeated king is stern — nothing left in possession
- Finally vanquish a queen and aged king
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Defeated king" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case defeated king = harold.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.