What is William the Conqueror?
{{Infobox Monarch | name = William I | title = King of England, Duke of Normandy | image = King William I ('The Conqueror') from NPG.jpg | image_size =230px | caption = Imaginary portrait of William by Anonymous | succession = [[List of English monarchs|King of England]] | reign = 25 December 1066 - 9 September 1087 | coronation = 25 December 1066 | predecessor = [[Harold II of England|Harold II]] | successor = [[William II of England|William II]] | succession2 = [[Duke of Normandy]] | reign2 = 7 July 1035 – 9 September 1087 | coronation2 = 15 May 1041 | predecessor2 = [[Robert I, Duke of Normandy|Robert I]] | successor2 = [[Robert Curthose|Robert II]] | spouse = [[Matilda of Flanders]] (1031 – 1083) | house = [[House of Normandy|Normandy]] | birth_date =1 January 1027 | birth_place = [[Normandy]], [[France]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1087|9|9|1027|1|1|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Palace of Westminster]], [[London]], [[England]] | burial_place = [[Westminster Abbey]], [[London]], [[England]] | issue = {{plain list| * [[Robert Curthose|Robert II, Duke of Normandy]] * [[William II of England]] * [[Henry I of England]] * [[Cecelia, Abbess of Romney Abbey]] * [[Constance, Duchess of Brittany]]}} | father = [[Robert I, Duke of Normandy]] | mother = [[Herleva de Falaise]] }} '''William the Conqueror''' (1028 &ndash; 9 September 1087), also known as '''William I of England''', was a [[Normandy|Norman]] statesman and warlord. He was the first [[Normans|Norman]] [[English monarchs|King of England]] (1066–1087). He was also the [[Duke of Normandy]] from 1035 to his death. Every monarch of [[England]] and later of [[Great Britain]] and of the [[United Kingdom]] is directly descended from William. At the [[Battle of Hastings]], William defeated [[Harold Godwinson]], the last [[Anglo-Saxon]] king of England. The event is shown on the [[Bayeux Tapestry]]. William changed the course of both Norman and English history. He and Harold fought to over the English throne. Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings in