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 Aquitaine William II, Duke of Aquitaine William II the Young (died 12 December 926) was the Count of Auvergne and Duke of Aquitaine from 918 to his death, succeeding his uncle William I. William was son of the Acfred I of Carcassonne and Adelinde, William I's sister and Bernard Plantapilosa's daughter. Immediately after succeeding his uncle, he made war on the Burgundians and Normans, who refused to accept Rudolph as king of France. His support of the king, however, was insincere. He later revolted and Rudolph led an army into Aquitaine, but was called back to defend the Rhine from the