Companions of William the Conqueror Companions of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conquest of England. The term "Companions of the Conqueror" in the widest sense signifies those who planned, organised and joined with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, in the great adventure which was the Norman Conquest (1066-1071). The term is however more narrowly defined as those nobles who actually fought with
William III of the Netherlands by the standards of his age. William III was known to be a philanderer and had several dozen illegitimate children from various mistresses. Through one of his out-of-wedlock children, William III was a maternal ancestor of kickboxer Alistair Overeem. William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch: "Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk"; English: "William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis"; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866. William