The Normans invaded England in 1066 due to Duke William of Normandy's claim to the throne, it said that Edward the Confessor, who died in the January of that year, had named William as his heir, who was a great-nephew of Emma of Normandy, Edward's mother. After the victory at the Battle of Hastings against Harold Godwinson, William was crowned the first Norman King of England and became known as William the Conqueror, though his enemies sometimes referred to him as William the Bastard, thus the royal House of Normandy was founded. The Normans ruled England from 1066 to 1136, with the death of Henry I of England, and unofficially until 1154, with the death of King Stephen of England, who, descended from the Normans, he was a grandson of William the Conqueror, but from the House of Blois.
King Stephen's successor was the first Plantagenet King, Henry II, formerly known as Henry FitzEmpress. Henry was Stephen's chosen successor have the death of his son, Eustace IV of Boulogne, with the signing of the Treaty of Winchester in 1153. Henry was a second cousin of King Stephen, Henry's mother was the Empress Matilda, the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I o England after the White Ship Disaster of 1120. Matilda's second marriage was to the Count of Anjou, Geoffrey Plantagenet, from where the English royal house gained it's name. The Plantagenets ruled England from 1154, with the crowning of Henry II, up until 1485, with the death of Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth.
King Stephen's successor was the first Plantagenet King, Henry II, formerly known as Henry FitzEmpress. Henry was Stephen's chosen successor have the death of his son, Eustace IV of Boulogne, with the signing of the Treaty of Winchester in 1153. Henry was a second cousin of King Stephen, Henry's mother was the Empress Matilda, the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I o England after the White Ship Disaster of 1120. Matilda's second marriage was to the Count of Anjou, Geoffrey Plantagenet, from where the English royal house gained it's name. The Plantagenets ruled England from 1154, with the crowning of Henry II, up until 1485, with the death of Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth.
14th century depiction of the first branch of the Plantagenet family with Henry II (1133-1189) at the top, and then below from left to right: William IX of Poitiers (1153-1156), Henry the Young King (1155-1183), Richard I of England (1157-1199), Matilda, Duchess of Saxony (1156-1189), Geoffrey II of Brittany (1158-1186), Eleanor, Queen of Castile (1161-1214), Joan, Queen of Sicily, (1165-1199) and King John of England (1166-1216).