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:
Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen Charles William (9 November 1735 in Usingen – 17 May 1803) was Prince of Nassau-Usingen from 1775 until his death. From 1797 until his death, he was also titular Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken, however, Nassau-Saarbrücken was occupied by France during that period. He was the eldest son of Prince Charles of Nassau-Usingen and his wife, Christina Wilhelmina, the daughter of Duke John William III of Saxe-Eisenach. In 1770, Charles William became Lieutenant-General in the Dutch army. In 1789, he was promoted to general and in 1790 to colonel of the Walloon regiment and captain of the