The king gazed steadily at his favourite son for a moment. "This is why I have chosen him to be my heir," he thought.

"To put it simply, son, I am both King of England and Duke of Normandy. The throne is England is mine by blood right, however, due to the foul oath-breaker Harold and our subsequent invasion, the land is also mine by conquest.

At the moment, Normandy and England are equal in importance, the former being our birthplace and loyal to my rule, while the latter will prove in time to be the fairer of the two possessions.

However, if force to choose between the two, I would relinquish the ducal cornet of Normandy, for the kingly crown of England."