DBWI: William the bastard becomes King of England?

What if William of Normandy was able to beat out both Harold Godwinson and Harald of Norway in the battle for England? How would the history of England be different with a Frenchman rather than a Norseman on the throne?

OOC: In TTL, Harald Harada beat out both his Saxon, and his Norman rivals. Also, the above statement isn't actually in English, but in some harsh Germanic hybrid.
 
England becomes a French dutchy?

Probably just the south. the cultural identity of the Danelag would mean that it will almost automatically gravitate towards its natural Scandinavian ambit. There is also the question of how Scotland would react, but mostly it's really a matter of culture. The Wessex sphere might end up becoming a French druht, but the political heart of England is unlikely to.
 
We wouldn't have a North Sea Empire... You have to remember how important England was in the Conquering Years.

I still think we should have a name change. United Kingdom of Denmark, England, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and Wales just sounds so much cooler.
 
It's possible but unlikely I admit that William could have used the campaign victory as a springboard to subdue the entire island. certainly he was aggressive and hardheaded enough and his troops had a good deal of experience in warfare.
The only flaw I can see here is that the Scandinavians would constitute a direct threat to his rule throughout his and his descendants reigns. I can also see serious problems trying to administer the British isles from Normandy and I suspect that the Saxons would eventually break free from Norman rule and back into the Scandinavian sphere of influence.
 
UK

United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Normandy ?

UKN.jpg
 

Cook

Banned
I don’t know why people keep asking “what ifs” referring to these minor characters of history as though they’d totally change the course of events.
So someone comes over from Normandy?
Is that really going to prevent the British Isles from being part of the Scandinavian League?
 
I don’t know why people keep asking “what ifs” referring to these minor characters of history as though they’d totally change the course of events.
So someone comes over from Normandy?
Is that really going to prevent the British Isles from being part of the Scandinavian League?

Well, you have to remember that England was only invited to join the league (and hence the eventual personal union) because the royal family had strong family ties with both the Swedish and Nordic monarchies (I believe that the King at the time was in fact the Swedish King's second cousin). Dynasty mattered a lot in those days, and I'm not sure that the fact that Britain is geographically Scandinavian would be enough to get past the Frenchmen on the throne.
 
Top