William II of England Death
William passed away on August 2, 1100 at the age of 44 in New Forest, United Kingdom.
When did William II of England die?
August 2, 1100How old was William II of England when died?
44Where did William II of England die? What was the location of death?
New Forest, United Kingdom
William II of England Birthday and Date of Death
William II of England was born in 1056 and died on August 2, 1100. William was 44 years old at the time of death.
Birthday: 1056
Date of Death: August 2, 1100
Age at Death: 44
Is William II of England's father, William the Conqueror, dead or alive?
William the Conqueror's information is not available now.
Is William II of England's mother, Matilda of Flanders, dead or alive?
Matilda of Flanders's information is not available now.
William II of England - Biography
William II, the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. William is commonly known as William Rufus, perhaps because of his red-faced appearance.
William went hunting on 2 August 1100 in the New Forest, probably near Brockenhurst, and was killed by an arrow through the lung, though the circumstances remain unclear. The earliest statement of the event was in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which noted that the king was "shot by an arrow by one of his own men." Later chroniclers added the name of the killer, a nobleman named Walter Tirel, although the description of events was later embroidered with other details that may or may not be true. The first mention of any location more exact than the New Forest comes from John Leland, who wrote in 1530 that William died at Thorougham, a placename that is no longer used, but that probably referred to a location on what is now Park Farm on the Beaulieu estates.
The king's body was abandoned by the nobles at the place where he fell. A peasant later found it. William's younger brother, Henry, hastened to Winchester to secure the royal treasury, then to London, where he was crowned within days, before either archbishop could arrive. William of Malmesbury, in his account of William's death, stated that the body was taken to Winchester Cathedral by a few countrymen.
To the chroniclers – men of the Church – such an "act of God" was a just end for a wicked king, and was regarded as a fitting demise for a ruler who came into conflict with the religious orders to which they belonged. Over the following centuries, the obvious suggestion that one of William's enemies had a hand in this event has repeatedly been made: chroniclers of the time point out themselves that Tirel was renowned as a keen bowman, and thus was unlikely to have loosed such an impetuous shot. Moreover, Bartlett says that rivalry between brothers was the pattern of political conflict in this period. William's brother Henry was among the hunting party that day and succeeded him as King.
