William I the Conqueror, King of England

(1027-1087)

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William I the Conqueror, King of England

Birth 1027/1028, Falaise, Normandy, France

Death 7 SEP 1087, Near Rouen, France

Burial, St Stephen Abbey, Caen, Normandy

Father Duke Robert the Devil

Mother Herleva

Family: Matilda of Flanders

Marriage 1053

  1. Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy
  2. Richard
  3. William II Rufus, King of England
  4. Abbess Cecilia of Holy Trinity
  5. Agatha
  6. Adeliza a nun
  7. Adela
  8. Matilda
  9. Constance
  10. Henry I Beauclerc, King of England
NOTES: William of the House of Normandy; The first Norman King; On 28 Sep 1066 William secured the sanction of Pope Alexander II for a Norman invasion of England. By 1070 the Norman conquest of England was complete. William introduced the Continental system of feudalism; by the Oath of Salisbury of 1086 all landlords swore allegiance to William, thus establishing the precedent that a vassal's loyalty to the king overrode his fealty to his immediate lord. During a campaign against King Philip I of France, William fell from a horse and was fatally injured. William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy and Arletta, a tanner's daughter. He is sometimes called "William the Bastard".