Why William The Conqueror Wasn't A Real King [Shorts]

[jollybritishchap]

Yeah but let’s be honest. “William the conqueror” is a significantly cooler sounding name.

[ArtemisScribe]

Actually in the City of London he's just William the First because the City was never conquered. He was like "Okay, I will let you keep all your special privileges and exceptions and your own rules if you agree I'm the king." and the City went "okay then, we agree you're the king!"
So yes, in a single square mile of the UK William's right of inheritance is upheld.

[nickhancock]

He did it because he was tired of being "William the Bastard." True story bro.

[ivanov]

William: I am your king.
English: Well, I didn't vote for you.
William: You don't vote for kings.

[richardreinertson]

To be fair, nobody calls him "William the Usurper."

[Mixcoatl]

He became King by right of conquest, which was a perfectly legitimate way to become a King.

[markshrimpton]

When I was at school in the 1960s he was frequently referred to as “William the Bastard” because he was the natural ie illegitimate son of of Robert the Magnificent,

[RAFMnBgaming]

Counterpoint: If someone showed up with a big army, killed the last king, declared himself the king and started doing king stuff, are you really gonna argue with him?

[PershingDriver]

Right of conquest was recognized as legitimate right up until the end of WW2. Now we say it’s illegitimate but it is still used by leaders and nations

[GrandMarshalGarithos]

His descendents also married into Alfred the Great's line, meaning the current king is related to King Alfred.

[BenRangel]

Makes sense. If you're gonna make a significant Mark in history it's easier to do it with a conquest than just being 6th in a long stable line of inheritance

[onbearfeet]

Much like how, after Henry IV legitimized his half-siblings with the surname Beaufort, they quickly became known as the Beaufort Bastards.

[ronmaximilian]

To be fair, no one was going to call William the bastard William the inheritor

[lovecraftianwalrus]

I mean, his wife was distant descendant of Alfred the Great, and he was a biological cousin to Edward the confessor, along with the fact that they grew up together in Normandy. He definitely has a better claim to the throne than Harold does in my opinion. Plus right if conquest was considered legitimate way of becoming king.

[SportyMabamba]

If Right of Conquest is invalid then someone needs to tell the Lancastrians and Yorkists

[itskarl]

If William I was not a legitimate king, then neither were any of his successors.

[TAPa]

I call him William The Bastard

I feel like the reasoning makes itself. On many levels

[BrianSpurrier]

I solely refer to the Norman Invasion of England as “That time William the Bastard wanted a better nickname”

[akapbhan]

We call him William the conqueror because it's better than William the bastard

[harrietyounger]

It's better than William the bastard which was his name prior.