Territorial evolution of France face up to the formidable challenge with which they were presented. The Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066 through his victory at Hastings over the Saxons. On the extinction of his male line of descent, his heir was the Duke of Anjou, Henry Plantagenet, grandson by his mother of Henry I of England. Two months before he ascended to the English throne, as Henry II, he married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, the richest heiress in the French kingdom and ex-wife of the King of France. The kings of France nevertheless, held some trump cards:
Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederick William (17 October 1819 – 30 May 1904) was a German sovereign who ruled over the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as Grand Duke from 1860 until his death. He was born in Neustrelitz, the son of Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel. He spent his youth in Neustrelitz and later went to study history and jurisprudence in Bonn. After finishing his studies, he went travelling to Italy and Switzerland. He became a Doctor of Civil Law of the University of Oxford. Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded as Grand Duke on the death