He is the last son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici. Small in stature, he was nevertheless baptized under the name of Hercules, before taking the name of his brother François, who died in 1560. A rebellious prince, he was particularly jealous of his brother Henri d'Anjou, who was favored by his mother. Everything contrasts him with his brother, his character, his appearance:he is very ugly, his face is deeply scarred by smallpox. At the Court of Charles IX, he took the lead of the Malcontents party and plotted with Henry of Navarre to impose himself as the king's successor in place of his brother Henry, who had become king of Poland. He was eventually arrested and held in court under surveillance. Subsequently, humiliated at the Court of his brother Henry III, he fled from Paris through a hole in the ramparts. Joined by the Protestants of Navarre, a fifth war of religion opens then, where François obtains the “peace of Sir” which restores the freedom of worship for the Protestants. He triumphantly resumes his place at Court by reconciling with his brother. He was then at the height of his political power, and was considered to marry Queen Elizabeth I of England (22 years his senior). In 1579, he was invited by William of Orange to become the sovereign of the provinces of the Netherlands. However, he suffered a military failure in Antwerp and then died suddenly of tuberculosis in 1584.
William Long Sword is the second Duke of Normandy or second Jarl of the Normans of the Seine. He succeeded his father Rollo around 927. He was the natural son of Rollo and Poppa, his concubine, Danish-style wife of the Viking. The young woman gave Rollo two children. A girl with the Scandinavian nam