The 59-year-old Duke of Normandy was taken to his Duchy's capital Rouen after the accident, but was unable to recover from his injuries.

BBC: 9 September

His eldest son Robert was denied the throne after falling out with his father, but will be made Duke of Normandy after a deathbed concession.

BBC: 1087: William 'the Conqueror' dies

In October 1066 AD William I, Duke of Normandy, was about to lay claim to England on the field of battle against King Harold II.

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Born in 1028, William was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy and a young woman called Herleve, the daughter of a Falaise tanner.

BBC: 9 September