William the Conqueror William the Conqueror William I (c. 1028 – 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England six years later. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was the last sovereign Duke of Nassau, reigning from 20 August 1839 until the duchy's annexation to Kingdom of Prussia in 1866. In 1890, he became Grand Duke of Luxembourg following the death of King William III of the Netherlands, ending the personal union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg, until his own death in 1905. He was the first monarch of Luxembourg from the House of Nassau-Weilburg. Adolphe became Duke of Nassau in August 1839, following the death of his father William.