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How Many Living Descendants Does William The Conqueror Have?

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Julii Brainard Profile
Julii Brainard answered
William the Conqueror (he of 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, England, all that) had at least 3 sons who survived infancy and an uncertain number of daughters (probably 7) with his wife Matilda.  All of the Royal Houses of Europe are descended from William and Matilda.  Anyone who can trace their ancestry to even a minor royale can claim descent.

Assuming that most of William's children had at least ten children, and keeping in mind that because these were wealthy people most of whose children tended to survive infancy, William and Matilda are ancestors to probably millions of people today.  One estimate is that between 1 and 1.5 million Americans alone can claim descent.

Assuming that individuals in each generation produce an average of 5 children every 35 years, until 2005, that would allow 27 generations from 1066 to 1915 leaving 10*5^27 descendants, or approximately billions of  BILLIONS of descendants.. Assuming people never married their distant cousins (which they do).  Neverthless, it would be kind of surprising if many people of European ethnic origin aren't descended from Wiliam the Conqueror.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
I know what you mean, because I know that I'm a descendant of William the Conqueror
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
My stepfathers family actually has put together a family tree. It took them around 10-15 years to complete, they traveled the world, collected many documents, and made this huge family tree book. He also is a descendant. Pretty crazy.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
Very interesting, I'm a descendant to.

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