Descended from William the Conqueror

Let's see how far we can go back...As we've already seen, King John was the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II was the son of Geoffrey V “Le Bon” Plantagenet and Matilda (Maud) Empress of Germany.

Empress Matilda (1102-1167) was the daughter of Henry I and Matilda of Scotland (1080-1118). Henry I was the son of William I and Matilda of Flanders. He was born in September of 1068 at Selby, Yorkshire, a mere two years after the Norman Invasion. Henry I ascended to the throne on August 3, 1100 aged 31 years and was crowned on August 6, 1100 at Westminster Abbey. He married twice (1) Matilda (Edith), Daughter of Malcolm III and (2): Adelicia, Daughter of Geoffrey VII, count of Louvain. He died on December 2, 1135 at St Denis le Fermont, aged 67 years, 2 months, and 29 days and was buried at Reading.

William I (also known as William The Conqueror) was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and Arlette (Herleva) daughter of Fulbert. Despite his illegitimatcy, his father made him his heir. He was born on September 1028 at Falaise, Normandy. He ascended to the throne of England and was crowned on December 25, 1066 aged 38 years at Westminster Abbey. He married Matilda, Daughter of Count of Flanders (1031-1083). He died on September 9, 1087 at Rouen, France, aged 59 years, and 7 days and was buried at St Stephens Abbey, Caen, Normandy.

Robert I, Duke of Normandy (1000 to 1035) was the son of Richard II Duke of Normandy. Richard II (963-1027) was the son of Richard I Duke of Normandy (933-996). Richard I's daughter Emma of Normandy married King Aethelred II The Unready of England and her son was Edward the Confessor, King of England. His son Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England who was defeated by William I at the Battle of Hastings.

So we're descended from William the Conqueror. That's pretty cool. I've also hit Normandy a lot in my research into other branches of the family. There's usually an ancestor born in Normandy before 1066, then the next birth is in England. So we likely had a lot of ancestors that were part of the Norman Invasion.