William was born in Normandy, the bastard son of his father's relationshipwith a tanner's daughter. He was often taunted about his birth whichinfuriated him. Upon becoming an adult, a marriage was arranged for him withMatilda of Flanders. At their first meeting, Matilda said she would notmarry him because he was a bastard and William responded by throwing herinto the muddy street. That incident promptly persuaded Matilda to changeher mind. I guess she saw him as a forceful man and the scene played outquite hilariously in my mind. In England, the remaining of the Danes andSaxons struggled to keep control of the country. The Danes were relatives ofWilliam's family (Edward the Confessor was William's father's cousin) andwhen Edward was nearing death, he proclaimed that William should be his heirand unite Normandy and England. The rest of Edward's family tree whichincluded other claimants to the throne seemed rather complicated andPlaidy's explanation of it was rather lacking. When Edward dies and Haroldhas himself proclaimed King - setting in motion William's invasion ofEngland in 1066 - I really had no idea who Harold was or why he had a claim.The rest of the book covers Williams feud with his son Robert and theongoing battle between his other sons, Rufus and Henry. As he neared death,William left Normandy to Robert and England to Rufus while leaving his sonHenry with only money. As Henry expressed his dismay, William told him to bepatient - that in time he would have all of his possessions and be a greaterpower than either of his brothers.