Statue of William the Conqueror Statue of William the Conqueror The statue of William the Conqueror is located in his birthplace, Falaise, Calvados, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of Caen, France. It depicts William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy and later King of England, on a horse, and is surrounded by statues of his six predecessors. It is the work of the French sculptor Louis Rochet. The monument is a bronze statue on a granite pedestal. Surrounding the pedestal are six other statues representing the first six dukes of Normandy: Rollo, William I, Richard I, Richard II, Richard III, and Robert I. There
William the Conqueror was restored to the tomb at that time, but in 1562, during the French Wars of Religion, the grave was reopened and the bones scattered and lost, with the exception of one thigh bone. This lone relic was reburied in 1642 with a new marker, which was replaced 100 years later with a more elaborate monument. This tomb was again destroyed during the French Revolution but was eventually replaced with the current marker. The immediate consequence of William's death was a war between his sons Robert and William over control of England and Normandy. Even after the younger William's death