How would the BBC have reported events like the Great Fire of London in 1666 or the death of William the Conqueror in 1087?

BBC: 1066 And all that

But who knows what the world would look like today if our hero had become known as William the Whiner instead of William the Conqueror?

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The British royal family can be traced back 900 years to William the Conqueror, although the succession has passed through a number of families to the house of Windsor.

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The 70m (230ft) long tapestry was commissioned by William the Conqueror's half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, depicting the events surrounding the Norman Conquest, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.

BBC: Bayeux Tapestry 'made by same people in same place'

Not only because they supplied a good number of English kings and queens, from William the Conqueror on, but also because Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris.

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When other public bodies have been battered and bruised, the current, comfortable status quo is not a bad position for Elizabeth II, the 40th hereditary monarch since William the Conqueror, to occupy and indeed savour.

BBC: Queen Elizabeth II's calm reign key to her success

And I should also like to hear some words of contrition from President Chirac about William the Conqueror, from Romano Prodi about the Roman invasion and from the prime ministers of Norway and Denmark about those disgraceful Vikings.

ECONOMIST: Mea culpa, and all that