Next in line, the middle son of William I, also named William.
William the Conqueror had four sons... Robert, Richard, William, and Henry. (He also had five or six daughters.) Richard died in a hunting accident... an event that would eerily echo again 30 years later.
Robert got Normandy, but William received England, and became William II.
- Was known as "William Rufus the Red" because he had red hair and a ruddy complexion
- When teenaged, William and Henry dumped a full chamberpot on their eldest brother, Robert. Robert was so angry that their father didn't punish them that he started a war with his father. King William eventually forgave Prince Robert after losing to him in battle.
- Fought the Anglo-Saxons and pushed them further into Wales
- Paid for his older brother's crusade, which helped him gain power at home.
- Was goaded into a later war with Robert by his younger brother, Henry, who continually switched sides
- Got into a nasty argument with the church over the division of church and state. (He wanted more freedom for the state)
- Was either bisexual or homosexual, and was detested by many of his nobles for his very open and outward association with male "Favorites."
- Was killed in a hunting "accident" while out hunting with his nobles and his younger brother. His body was abandoned in the woods. A peasant later found it. His younger brother, rather conveniently, had already rushed home and claimed the crown jewels and the throne.
William the Conqueror had four sons... Robert, Richard, William, and Henry. (He also had five or six daughters.) Richard died in a hunting accident... an event that would eerily echo again 30 years later.
Robert got Normandy, but William received England, and became William II.
- Was known as "William Rufus the Red" because he had red hair and a ruddy complexion
- When teenaged, William and Henry dumped a full chamberpot on their eldest brother, Robert. Robert was so angry that their father didn't punish them that he started a war with his father. King William eventually forgave Prince Robert after losing to him in battle.
- Fought the Anglo-Saxons and pushed them further into Wales
- Paid for his older brother's crusade, which helped him gain power at home.
- Was goaded into a later war with Robert by his younger brother, Henry, who continually switched sides
- Got into a nasty argument with the church over the division of church and state. (He wanted more freedom for the state)
- Was either bisexual or homosexual, and was detested by many of his nobles for his very open and outward association with male "Favorites."
- Was killed in a hunting "accident" while out hunting with his nobles and his younger brother. His body was abandoned in the woods. A peasant later found it. His younger brother, rather conveniently, had already rushed home and claimed the crown jewels and the throne.