William argued that which figure promised him the throne?

• A. Edward the Confessor
• B. Harold Godwinson
• C. Ethelred the Unready
• D. William II

Answer: (A)

This question tests how succession could be justified by promises or oaths, not just by bloodline. William argued that Edward the Confessor promised him the throne, and that promise on Edward’s part would give William a legitimate claim to rule England after Edward’s death. Because Edward died without a clear heir, this promised succession became a central justification for William’s bid to take the crown and leads into the Norman Conquest story. The other figures don’t fit the idea of a prior promise to William: Ethelred the Unready ruled earlier, Harold Godwinson’s issue is the oath to support William’s claim but not the promise of the throne itself from Edward, and William II came after the conquest.