His friends called him Duke of Normandy; his subjects: William the Bastard; history chose to call him William the Conqueror. No one dared to call him the Conqueror to his face. He claimed that he was the rightful king and that the Conquest was the only way to have this right. He was born in Falaise, Normandy (present day France) in the year 1028. He was born of his mother, Arlette, from Falaise, and his father: Robert, Duke of Normandy. William, being Robert's only heir, took over the throne as the Duke of Normandy when Robert died while off on a Crusade. Three of William's guardia…
