Which son received England and became King?

• A. Robert Curthose
• B. William Rufus
• C. Henry
• D. Harold Godwinson

Answer: (B)

After the Norman Conquest, the English crown went to one of William the Conqueror’s sons. The son who actually received England and wore the English crown first was William Rufus, the second son, who ruled as William II from 1087 to 1100. His brother Robert Curthose inherited Normandy, not England, while the third son, Henry, would become King Henry I later on after Rufus’s death. Harold Godwinson, by contrast, was not a son of William the Conqueror at all. So the reason William Rufus is the correct choice is that he was the one who immediately held the English throne following the conquest.