William I - Introduction by Damian Lewis

[Spoken: Damian Lewis]
Over a thousand years ago, William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, or William the Conqueror as he was better known, was the last leader to successfully invade this country
Always shaped by his sense of destiny and his unswerving belief in his birthright, William challenged the other contender to the British throne, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings in October, 1066
With Harold dead, the Normans conquered
We were now under a foreign power
But thе Norman legacy, although brutal, left us with the thе Bayeux Tapestry, the tower of London's white tower, a purpose-built hunting ground known now as The New Forest, and the Doomsday Book, the first census of this kingdom
He died in Normandy in 1087, twenty-one years after his famous defeat of Anglo-Saxon Britain
He left his mark as both a famous and infamous monarch, William the Conqueror, the Invader