Why did William duke of Normandy want to become king?

Answer 1

• Because he belonged to a rich and wealthy family

• because he thought that he could do a good job, he also thought it was his duty , and thought that since he was a good ruler of Normandy he would do well as a king of England.

• According to him, Harold Godwinson the Saxon had sworn on the bones of a saint that he would help him become king. But Harold Godwinson became king, and because he had not helped him become king, William tried to (and did) conquer England.

And hought that he would listen to everyone, and said that he will be a nice king.

Answer 2

Edward the Confessor was King of England from 1042 to 1066. His reign was somewhat turbulent with various powerful families and groups trying to influence or even control Edward. One of the families, and most powerful, was the Godwins. Depending on the different historians, the Godwins may have exercised a great deal of power over him, and many of them were exiled. Some tried to raise an army and invade England, but for several reasons their efforts failed. Never the less Edward married Edith Godwin in 1045. but antipathy with the Godwins increased when Edward refused to accept one of their relatives as Archbishop of Canterbury. There was also antipathy between the Godwins, especially Harold, and Wiiliam Duke of Normandy for various reasons, one of which was their activities in raising the envasion army.

That background is important because Edward died in 1066 without leaving an heir. Many thought that since Edward had made Edith his queen , she should rule. But most thought that a woman could not rule and a king should be chosen. Harold Godwin thought he was the logical choice, even if he was not of royal descent, he was Edith's brother after all. The Witenagemot, a council of high-ranking clergy and nobles, ( many of whom were Godwins or their supporters) elected Harold king, he reigned as Harold II.

But.. ( big but) before he died Edward had told or hinted that he chosen more than one man to be his successor, either as a matter of statescraft, to keep the factions at each others throat instead of his, or unintentionally, he was ailing and somewhat "unworldly" at times. William the Norman was of those men, or at least thought he was. And of all the men he had the strongest claim to the throne by royal blood, he was of distant royal descent, 2nd cousin to Edward, and his wife, Mathilda, was of even closer descent. ( To further complicate things, Mathilda's sister was married to a Godwin.)

So, William thought he had a legitimate claim to the English throne due to royal inheritance and Edward's possible promise. Not only that, England was now ruled by the already disliked Godwins, who had shown more than a little interest in taking Normandy as their personal Duchy, the throne itself was occupied by the especially disliked Harold. In addition, not only had the Godwins cast greedy eyes on Normandy, English monarchs of the past had wanted to add it to their kingdom.

So, because of a perceived legitimate claim, personal animosity, and to protect his holdings, William had all the validation he needed to invade England. Add to that Papal approval, assitance from others the Godwins had offended, and complicated political and family relationships and animosities. Thrown into the bargain, he could add Normandy to the English Kingdom without losing personal ownership.

Of course any one who tries to usurp a thrown has got to be a power seeker for one reason or another, political or personal egotism, or what have you.

That's a long answer, I have seen longer. Short answer, especially for the times, the Divine Right of Kings. Witenagemot or not, God chose William as king and God helps those who help themselves.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SHOULD BE ADDED TO THIS ANSWER:

William the Conqueror had a distant blood claim to the English throne through his great-aunt, English Queen Emma. Emma's son, King Edward, was William's first cousin once removed. Therefore, William had as strong a blood claim to the English thrown as anyone else with the exception of one other person.

William the Conqueror had his sights on England as a young man due to his father's intended invasion, an invasion that never came to fruition.

Many years before William became the Conqueror, he visited English King Edward who promised to name William as his successor to the kingship. Edward made this pronouncement publicly at least one more time in future years. In fact, Edward executed two wills naming William as his successor. William expected that he would peaceably become King of England.

King Edward had married into the ambitious Godwineson family who held great estates and political power in England. At some point, King Edward sent his brother-in-law, Harald Godwinson to Normandy on a diplomatic mission with William. During that mission, William obtained a promise from Harald that the Englishman would not stand in the way William's path to kingship and that Harald would support him as the heir-apparent to the throne.

King Edward and Harald betrayed William the Conqueror. On his deathbed, King Edward the Confessor, who had no son, was pressured into naming Harald, his brother-in-law as his successor. In essence, Harald usurped the throne from William the Conqueror, who intended to take it peaceably.

William the Conqueror appealed to the Pope and received a papal banner authorizing the Engliash invasion, which was undertaken in 1066.

Answer 3

well William the conquereor wanted to be king because he was already duke of Normandy and wanted more power than duke so he was rally depserate to become king. he even blackmailed Harold (William's friend) to help William become king lol.he was also related in some way.

Answer 4

Because his predecessor king James, being a Catholic himself, supported the re-emergence of Catholicism in England, a reversal of a hundred year-old policy in a country that generally mistrusted Catholics at the time. He also entertained friendly relations with France which did not at all sit well with the francofobic feelings of his subjects. They wanted him replaced, and looked around for a suitable candidate.

William, the Prince-Stadtholder of the Dutch republic, was married to James' daughter Mary, and he was a staunch Protestant and firmly anti-French. So when Mary was invited by a group of prominent English nobles to replace her father they willingly invited her husband along with her. William promised to come over on the condition that he would not be the prince-consort to Queen Mary, but rule alongside to her as king.

Answer 5

Because he won the war against Harold Godwinson

Answer 6

he thought he should become king because he was related to edward the confessor

he also was a general and decided to go and rape a cat

Answer 7

I do not know why.