[1] In 1088 Robert had to face an uprising in the North lead by his brother William Rufus and Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria. In 1090 William Rufus was betrayed by Robert de Mowbray and asked Robert I for refuge. King Robert initially was against this, but his brother Henry convinced him that he could be a powerful ally, so Robert let William live with him under strict supervision. Later that year the rebellion was crushed, and Robert de Mowbray was executed.
When the first crusade was called, Robert raised an army and headed for the Holy Land. The first crusade was a success and Robert was offered the crown of Jerusalem, but he declined and the title went to his brother Henry who had come on the crusade as well.
In 1100, Robert married Matilda of Scotland and had 2 sons.
The rest of his reign was spend trying to consolidate his power over England, making sure that a rebellion like the Northern uprising would never happen again. Although he lacked the charisma and intelligence of his father, he was a good King who well liked by his subjects. In 1134 he passed away peacefully in his sleep.
[2] Prince Robert was 26 when he became King and Duke of Normandy. His older brother, William, had died in 1128 at the age of 27 from a prolonged illness. He married Agnes of Aquitaine. They had three children before she retired to a convent. When Agnes' niece, Elanor, died in a riding accident, Agnes became the heir of Aquitaine and those realms were added to the English crown. Robert spent a lot of time later in his reign in France fighting for the French lands. He died in battle at the age of 66, still robust.
[3] Continuing his father's campaign in the War of Succession of Aquitaine, he had to fight back the unexpected alliance of Raimondins and Plantagenets (which both claimed part of the Ramnulfid inheritence), themselves allied to Capetians. While the Norman control of most of Poitou and Gascony was ensured, Richard had to give up Auvergne, Limousin and what remained of Poitou to his foes, which soon continued the fight, against each other, to share the spoils. Richard probably planned another campaign, but died, childless (his two sons died before his coronation) of a badly healed wound.
[4] William was the third child and second son of Robert II, ten years younger than his older brother. He was only 40 on taking throne. His mother, Agnes, had retired to a convent on his birth and taken him with her. He was thus raised in the convert and pursued a religious life, even though his father the King refused to allow him to take vows, as did his older brother, in that he was in line for the throne. However, until he succeeded his brother, he lived as if he was a monk in the companion monastery of his mother's convent. Thus he had no children. His reign was noted for his lack of interest in the wars with France. Instead his only focus was on the Third Crusade. He didn't go himself, but he made it a priority of his kingdom and his funds, even selling off some of the lands in France for funds. He sent his nephew and heir, Prince William, the son of his sister, Princess Margaret, as the head of the English contingent of the Third Crusade, where he was when news came his uncle had died and he was to take the throne.
[5] William III was the first English King of the House of Hauteville- his father Alfonso was a grandson of Roger II of Sicily. William III's first priority was to take back lost land from the French. He successfully conquered South France and Flanders. He tried to invade Brittany but failed, and after that the war began to stagnate. Realising the war was not going anywhere, William negotiated peace with Philip II in 1208. William was to keep Aquitaine, Flanders and Normandy, but was to return Toulouse. Poitou was to be evenly split. The war in France was over, and it was an English victory.
William married a descendant of Richard I, a woman named Constance who gave 3 daughters and no sons. Regardless, he loved Constance and all his daughters and spent much time raising them. In the later years of his reign, he invaded Wales. The fighting was bloody, but he conquered them in under a year. Despite being their rightful King, some of the Welsh did not take kindly to their new leader, and in 1221 a Welsh assassin was sent to kill him, but ultimately failed.
In 1223 he passed away of natural causes at the age of 57.
[6] William IV had his reputation tarnished before his reign had even begun, his mothers maternal grandmother was Elizabeth, FitzRoy, the illegitimate daughter of Richard I. Despite the legitimacy leant by his mother, Princess Ruth's marriage to Eobard, the Earl of Durham, his ancestry earned him the nickname of "William the Cuckoo" - a prince who had fallen into the royal nest and usurped power. Some argued that Richard, Duke of Salisbury (the last remaining descendant of William Rufus) was the true heir - which could have led to upheaval and a civil war, if Richards entire family hadn't drowned when travelling back from visiting his wife's relatives in France before he could even contemplate a challenge for the crown. And that meant that the closest figures in the line of succession who hadn't been forced into a nunnery (as Ruth's sisters Rachel and Rebecca had been) were descendants of William the Conquerors son Henry, the King of Jerusalem through his only legitimate daughter Matilda who had been Holy Roman Empress as well as Queen of Jerusalem and her descendants who had all been titled Princes of the Holy Land. And so William IV married one of his distant relatives in order to defeat their potential claim as it would disinherit one of their own should they overthrow him. William IV and Matilda of Poitiers, niece of Alfred, King of Jerusalem (Empress Matilda's grandson) were married in 1225, two years into his reign and produced three children and resumed his grandfather's attempt to conquer Brittany - which succeeded this time due to the support that he blackmailed his wife's relatives into providing. By the end of his reign, English territories had swelled to encompass much of present day France - Anjou, Maine, Normandy, Nantes and Brittany. As he grew older he created his eldest son as Prince of the French - a title which would prove controversial in itself as the Dukes War erupted from 1263 and the emotional strain and death of his wife eventually broke William IV who it is widely reported commutes suicide by walking off the battlements of Dover Castle at midnight. With his eldest son preoccupied with the Dukes War in France, a war that seemed to be two steps forward and three steps back, would the Privy Council look elsewhere for a new King?
[7] Prince Henry, age 43, was in France fighting the Dukes War when his father died. His mother, Queen Maltida, immediately sent Henry's older sister, Isabel, to take him the news and urge him back because the Privy Council was returning to the legitimacy question and considering putting Maltida's infant nephew, John Plantagenet on the throne, being a direct descendant of Henry, King of Jersualem, the young brother of Robert the First, with no legitimacy issues in his ancestry. This would mean that the head of the Privy Council, the Duke of Essex. Geoffrey Fitzwalter, John's step father, would be the regent and the real ruler. Geoffrey had married Deborah of York, the widow of Maltida's brother, Edward Plantagent. Edward was the son of Alfred's younger brother, also named Edward, and was Alfred's heir. Like his uncle he was titled the King of Jersualem, although the Kingdom of Jerusalem no longer existed, having been lost early in Alfred's reign. The family had returned to England and taken up residency in York. Alfred and Edward were the sons of Henry Plantagenet, the grandson of Robert's brother, Henry. (Maltida had named the prince after her grandfather.)
Henry, his sons, and Isabel rushed home with his army. Maltida and their younger brother, Richard, a dwarf with a misshapen leg, were being held in the Tower by Geoffrey, who'd given himself the title of Duke of York as well as of Essex and had proclaimed himself "Defender of the Throne." In the Battle of Kent, Prince Henry decisively defeated Geoffrey, who was led into London in chains. By the time Henry and his army marched into London the Queen Mother had died, but Richard had been released and was the new head of the Privy Council. He met his older brother with a crown and placed it on his head as they met saying, "Long live Henry, first of his name, King of England, Wales, Scotland, and France."
Two of those were true. But Scotland was mainly independent except for a few Scottish baronies on the border who'd sworn fealty to Henry's father. So Richard's proclamation on that was more of a description of an intention rather than a reality. But all there thought that Henry was now King of most of France and soon would be crowned in Paris as King, for word had not reached them that in taking his army from the Dukes War, the English cause on the Continent had failed. Quickly the French forces had won the Dukes War and all English lands in France were gone.
Henry was immediately beset with problems with Scotland. His reign was occupied with conquering Scotland that had taken back the border baronies and actually invaded York, with the Plantagenets of York rebelling and joining the Scots in their war against Henry. They accused Henry of killing the infant John Plantagenet and replacing him with a look alike. In reality Henry was raising his cousin in the court as a prince who was fifth in the line of succession after his two sons, his brother, and his sister. Henry turned back the Scots and then invaded Scotland, taking all of the kingdom in the lowlands and surrounding Edinburgh in a siege. The Highlanders were rallied by William Wallace and they broke the siege. Bloody war raged on until both sides weary of the fighting came to a stalemate. The border baronies were returned to Scotland and York was returned to England. No peace was agreed on and so skirmishes continued between the two kingdoms after the main fighting had ceased.
Instead of discontinuing the Duke of York title, created by Geoffrey, Henry granted that title to his younger brother Richard, as well as many of the Plantagenet lands in York. Richard married Deborah of York after she swore fealty to Henry and her marriage to Geoffrey Fitzwalter of Essex was annulled. Henry gave to his cousin, John, the title of Duke of Essex and all of Fitzwalter's lands there. Fitzwalter lived out the rest of his life a prisoner in the Tower.
Henry died at age 65 from what modern scholars think was cancer of the pancreas and was succeeded by his son, Arthur of Canterbury.
[8] Arthur and his younger brother Henry were born whilst his father was still just Prince of the French, with Arthur created Duke of Canterbury and Henry made Duke of Durham (a raising of his great grandfather, Eobards, Earldom which had been absorbed into the crown during William IV reign). Although only five when he became Prince of Wales, he continued to use Duke of Canterbury as his title of preference in communication to the point that when he ascended the throne there was talk of the House of Durham being transformed into the House of Canterbury. But Arthur resisted, based on the advice of his saintly wife Mildrith of Thanet, third daughter of a mid-level Yorkshire baron, by whom he had five children. During his reign- which was one of largely fighting to maintain the status quo - Arthur watched his cousin, Richard of York marry his distant relation Margaret of Essex. Margaret was the daughter of John Plantagenet, created Duke of Essex by Arthur's father. John only produced daughters with his wife, which meant that the Dukedom would pass through them - it meant that any offspring of Margaret and Richard would inherit both Dukedoms and create a powerful political contender with alliances both North and South. Given his cousin was much younger than himself, this development would only occur very late in his reign with the birth of William of Essex and York. In response to this development, Arthur created Mildrith's brothers Alfred and Edward as Dukes of Lancaster and Salisbury and subsequently arranged a marriage between his middle daughter and one of his nephews to further cement the alliance with the House of Thanet. However, it wasn't his daughter who would assume the crown when Arthur fell from a horse and broke his collar bone but her son, Edward, Duke of Cornwall, his grandson.
[9] Edward, named after his father, Edward the Duke of Salisbury, came to the throne when his grandfather died because the throne skipped his mother in his favor since he was male. England still wasn't ready for a reigning queen. He had the choice of various names for his house: Thanet, Salisbury, or Canterbury. The last was due to him being made Duke of Canterbury by his grandfather, King Arthur. He chose Canterbury to emphasize his house was a continuation of his grandfather, who had been Duke of Canterbury until he passed the title to Edward.
In his early years as king, Edward depended on his uncle, Alfred, Duke of Lancaster, his father the Duke of Salisbury, and his cousin once removed, Arthur, 2nd Duke of Durnham, for guidance. Although he never openly rebelled or made a claim to the throne, his second cousin once removed, William, 3rd Duke of York, who was the same age as him, was a major problem. William became the head of the privy council and effectively controlled the purses strings of the kingdom since the council, now called Parliament, had gained the power of determining all taxes and fees in the kingdom.
Edward, against the advice of his uncle and his father, solved the problem by marrying William's only child, Mary of York & Essex. This turned William into his ally, but alienated Alfred, Duke of Lancaster. (Arthur, 2nd Duke of Durnham remained loyal, as it was his advice to take this step. His father, while disagreeing with the choice, remained loyal.) A minor rebellion occurred with Lancaster, who was soundly defeated by Edward and his allies of Arthur and William. Alfred swore fealty to Edward and passed the title of Duke to his son, Thomas.
Once this was finished, Edward's main task was to restore to the kingdom it's ancient lands in France, mainly Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine. With a large force he invaded France in 1346. This started what came to be known as the Century Long War. For the rest of his reign, Edward was at war with France, Burgundy at times was the ally of England and at times its enemy, as it would switch sides. There were periods of less conflict. Another problem was that Scotland and France became allies and often the Scots would raid the north when Edward was focused on France. However, by the end of his reign he had restored Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine to English rule and also added Brittany and the northwest coast including the vital port of Calais. He also pacified the Scots as Edinburgh and London finally made a peace treaty.
Due to his military accomplishments and pacifying Britain, Edward is known as the Great, a title used by the public for him in the last years of his reign. On his death he had many sons, daughters, and grandchildren. He was succeeded by his most senior Grandson by his first son, Edward Theodoric, Duke of Cornwall.
[10] Edward Theodoric, Duke of Cornwall was 11 years old upon his succession to the English throne, and was the sole son of Edward I's eldest son Edward Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Magdelina of Holland and Flanders. Upon his father's death in 1398, Edward Theodoric was recognised as both Duke of Cornwall and heir to the throne.
Upon Edward II's accession to the throne, a recency council was mustered consisting of his mother, and his many uncles. The reign of Edward would however be largely quiet aside the kings insistence at using the many French titles owed to his family, and personally referred to himself as the Duke of Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine on several occasions.
Edward II would pass in the summer of 1415, a single year after reaching majority, and his reign as sole monarch. He would never have married, though is known to have acknowledged a single illegitimate son; Edward of Fowey, granting this son many lands in Cornwall, and referring to this boy as "the Surviving line of the Dukes of Cornwall". With his death, the throne passed to Lionel the Ill-Fated.
[11] With the legitimate male line of the House of Cornwall dead, and no clear successor the great Kingdom formed by the conquest of William I and expanded by the likes of Edward the Great was torn apart by the War of the English Succession (1415-1424). The monarch who would be ultimately recognized (retroactively) as King would be Lionel 'the Ill-Fated', for of all the claimants to the throne he was the only one who successfully had a coronation ceremony in London during the war.
Lionel's entire reign would be dominated by the nine year civil war, in which he gained the initiative by having been in the capital upon Edward II's dead by chance, and having been Lionel, Duke of Essex (the descendant of John, Duke of Essex, the nephew of Henry I) he was able to convince the nobility present to recognize him as the King and pledge support.
However there were several other claimants on the field, such as Thomas, Duke of Lancaster (Thomas the Old Iron Duke), Paul, Duke of Durham, and several other claimants would emerge but the Dukes of Lancaster and Durham would prove the most pernicious threats.
During the nine-year war, Edward of Fowey, bastard-son of Edward II and the Duke of Cornwall made his own bid for power and failed, and fled to Aquitaine which was being invaded by France while England was distracted by their civil war. With the support of Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire, Edward of Fowey was given money and men and successfully repelled the French invasion and was recognized as King Edouard I of Aquitaine of the Kingdom of Aquitaine, while the French managed to reclaim Normandy and Brittany.
Lionel would successfully hold London and most of southern England during the war, while the Dukes would hold the north, but they would fight each other for the crown just as much as they did Lionel, until the Second Battle of Durham in which Paul was defeated and swore fealty to Thomas, Duke of Lancaster, this would be considered the marker in which the Kingdom of Northumbria would be founded and Thomas recognized as it's first King, though this wouldn't come about until later.
Lionel and Thomas continued to fight until 1424 when Thomas died in his sleep and Lionel's only son, Prince William died in a drowning accident within days of each other, Thomas's 50 year old son and heir, Thomas II negotiated with Lionel for the wars end and was recognized as King Thomas II of Lancaster, the new Kingdom of Northumbria would consist of what was once Northern England, most notably the Duchies of Lancaster, Durham, Northumbria, and portions of the Duchy of York.
Lionel then spent the last three years of his reign trying to begin the healing of his realm, he lost Aquitaine, Brittany, Normandy, and Northern England, his hold on the Welsh Lords and the Irish lords was gone due to the war, and his only son died without issue, leaving Lionel with only his daughters and their children as possible heirs.
Lionel delayed making a choice until he was dying on smallpox in 1427 and proclaimed his nephew, Howard, as his heir.
