After the Conquest: The Divided Realm 1066-1135

William the Conqueror’s youngest son Henry, was never destined to be king of England. On his father’s death England and Normandy was carved up between his elder brothers William Rufus and Robert Curthose. Henry was left landless. Yet twenty years later Henry master of both. The death of his brother, now King William Rufus, shot while hunting with Henry in the New Forest, may have been an accident, but Henry certainly acted swiftly to seize the crown. The defeat and imprisonment for life of his Robert, was certainly not accidental. Contemporaries considered Henry a harsh yet effective ruler. History has all but forgotten the achievements of his reign but it includes one of the great ‘what ifs’ of history. Henry had always worked to truly unify his two realms and his only legitimate son, William Adelin, was integral to his plans. If William had not perished in the sinking of the White Ship, would England and Normandy still be united today?