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
William the Conqueror (film) We then see a long sequence with William as a fugitive. Finally, as a young man, he persuades the King of France to lend him an army. He wins a crucial battle and becomes Duke. During the 1066 sections of the film, William tells a friend that it isn't the weather that is delaying him. And at the end, he gets a messenger from Norway. Presumably this tells him that Harold Hardrada is invading England, which will pull Harold Godwinson north and make the conquest much more likely to succeed. William the Conqueror (film) William the Conqueror () is a