WILLIAM, Prince of Wales, has a name that carries a lot of history.
There were several kings of England named William, each of whom left their mark on the country – here’s what we know about each one’s reign.
How many King Williams were there in England?
Since England became a single, unified state in the 10th century, there were four monarchs with the name William.
Before this, England was divided into the kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia.
Each of these four kings occupied the throne at very different times in history, and although some inherited the crown, others took it by force.
William I ‘the Conqueror’
Historians are unsure of the exact year William I was born, but it is believed to be around 1027.
Born in the Duchy of Normandy, in present-day France, William was a descendant of the Viking warrior Rollo through his father, the Duke of Normandy.
However, as it was born from an extramarital relationship between the duke and a tanner’s daughter, he was nicknamed ‘William the Bastard’.
He inherited the title from his father in 1035, when he was still a child, but consolidated his reign as an adult.
William then turned his attention across the English Channel when his distant relative, King Edward of England, died childless – and in 1066, he was ready to invade.
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His Norman army clashed with Saxon soldiers fighting for the new English king, Harold, in what is considered one of the most important battles in British history; the Battle of Hastings.
William was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day that year, and his victory earned him the new name ‘William the Conqueror’.
As ruler, William I is often remembered for ordering the compilation of the Domesday Book, a large-scale survey of all the land holdings in the country.
He died on September 9, 1087 and was buried in Normandy.
William II (William Rufus)
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William II was the third son of William the Conqueror.
He succeeded to the English throne upon the death of his father, who had left Normandy and money to his other surviving sons.
This William became known as ‘William Rufus’ – Rufus meaning ‘the Red’ in Latin – due to his red hair or his reddish skin.
William Rufus’s reign saw him successfully extend his influence to Scotland, but his time on the throne is remembered primarily in terms of two main mysteries: his sexuality and his death.
Some have speculated that William, who never married or had heirs, might have been homosexual, but there is no overwhelming evidence to support or refute this.
The other big question mark hangs over the day he was shot by an arrow and killed in the New Forest.
He was on a hunting expedition with his younger brother Henry when he was hit in the chest by an arrow that pierced his lungs.
While many argue that it was a plot to assassinate Henry so that he could be crowned king, others point out that hunting accidents were very common at the time, so we will probably never know what caused William’s death.
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William III (William of Orange)
There was a gap of almost 600 years between the reigns of Williams II and III.
‘Willem’ Hendrik was born in the then Dutch Republic in 1650 and had the title Prince of Orange from birth.
He was the son of a Dutch sovereign and Mary Stuart, daughter of the recently executed King Charles I of England.
A staunch Protestant, he participated in wars against other Catholic monarchs, including Louis XIV of France.
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After the English monarchy was restored and the crown passed from Charles II to his brother James II, many in England opposed this Catholic line of succession and urged William to intervene.
This began what became known as the Glorious Revolution.
In 1688 he landed at Brixham in Devon with 40,000 men and marched to London, where he was crowned king of England, Scotland and Ireland within months.
Many in Ireland were still loyal to James and resisted William’s rule, but were defeated by the new king’s army at the infamous Battle of the Boyne.
William III died of pneumonia in 1702 – to this day, he remains the last person to successfully invade England by military force.
William IV
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The fourth William to occupy the throne was born at Buckingham Palace in 1765.
As he had two older brothers, William IV never expected to be king and spent his youth in the Royal Navy, which later earned him the nickname ‘King of Sailors’.
He spent time in North America and the Caribbean, and at one point even served under Horatio Nelson.
When his two older brothers died without legitimate hierarchs, William became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at the age of 64.
I have my vision of things and I tell my ministers. If they don’t adopt them, I can’t help it. I did my duty.
King William IV
During his reign, several important sociopolitical changes occurred.
One of them was the abolition of slavery in almost the entire British Empire – something he had already resisted.
Under him, parliament also passed laws to limit child labor and introduced the Poor Law, which made provisions for people in need.
William’s style of monarchy was more restricted than that of most of his predecessors; he once said, “I have my view of things and tell them to my ministers. If they do not adopt them, I cannot help it. I have done my duty.”
He died at Windsor Castle in 1837 with his devoted wife Adelaide by his side.
William IV had 12 children, but as 10 of them were illegitimate and two died in infancy, he was succeeded by his niece, Queen Victoria.
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When was King Charles’ coronation?
KING Charles was crowned in a historic ceremony watched by millions of people on May 6, 2023.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
