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William I the Conqueror of England and Normandy, Duke of Normandy, King of England, was born 1027 in Falaise, Normandy, France to Robert I, Duke of Normandy (c1000-1035) and Herleva of Falaise (1003-1050) and died 9 September 1087 Priory of Saint Gervase,, Rouen, Normandy, France of unspecified causes. He married Matilda of Flanders (c1031-1083) 1051 JL .

William I, King of England, Duke of Normandy was a mediæval monarch. He ruled as the Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087 and as King of England from 1066 to 1087. As Duke of Normandy, William was known as William II, and, as King of England, as William I. He is commonly refered to as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant) or William the Bastard (Guillaume le Bâtard).


By age fifteen, William was knighted, and by twenty he went to war against his cousin Guy of Normandy to defend his title of Duke of Normandy. With the help of King Henri I of France, he subdued his enemies who were forced to swear allegiance to William.

In 1051, William visited his cousin Edward the Confessor, king of England. Edward was childless, and William's account is that the king made him his heir. According to supporters of William, Edward sent his brother in law Harold Godwinson to see William in 1063. Other accounts say that Harold was shipwrecked. All accounts agree that William refused to let Harold depart until he swore on holy relics that he would uphold William's claim to the throne of England, and agreed to marry his daughter (then an infant) Agatha. After winning his release, Harold reneged on both promises.

In support of his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Nor


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