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:
William II, Duke of Bavaria William II, Duke of Bavaria Duke William II of Bavaria-Straubing KG (5 April 1365—31 May 1417) was also count William IV of Holland, count William VI of Hainaut and count William V of Zeeland. He ruled from 1404 until 1417, when he died from an infection caused by a dog bite. William was a son of Albert I and Margaret of Brieg. William, allied with the Hooks, was in conflict with his father until 1394. In 1404 he succeeded him as Count of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut and duke of Bavaria-Straubing. In 1408 in the Battle of Othée William and