Parts I, II and III, if you so desire.
IV
William, the heir to the English throne of his father Henry I, was drowned after the wreck of a new royal ship in 1120. The ship was painted white, and stood for all the promise inherent in the English monarchy. William hides in thick textbooks and historical novels, and is barely just remembered through Norman family trees.
Perhaps he is so overshadowed because of the wild results of his death, and a wild younger sister. When Henry I (son of William the Conqueror, incidentally), no longer had his firstborn son and heir, things got a bit chaotic. Although his daughter, Matilda, was the named heir in William’s place, her cousin Stephen swiped the throne from under her after Henry I died. But Matilda was not the sort to defer to a man, and raised an army to try to defeat her cousin. Years of conflict followed, with Matilda’s son – the famed Henry II – eventually being named successor on Stephen’s death.
