William III, King of Normandy

William III, King of Normandy (1451-14??), was the son of Arthur I, King of Normandy and Catherine of France. William became King after the death of his father in 1486.

Early life
William, Prince of Normandy, was born in Valenguard, the eldest son of Arthur I, King of Normandy and Catherine of France. He was raised in Rouen with his brothers and sisters. It is said that William was an energetic and sometimes troublesome child and showed little interest in studies. During his teens he enjoyed hunting and showed great expertise in riding and combat.

In 1480, at the age of 29, King Arthur dispatched, William, along with 500 Knights and 4,000 soldiers to reinforce the Knights Hospitaller stronghold of Rhodes, which was facing an attack by the Ottomans. The city was eventually besieged in May 1480 by an Ottoman army. By the end of July the Ottoman forces launched a vigorous attack on the Jewish quarter and a frenzied struggle ensued. It is said that the Hospitaller Grand Master, Pierre d'Aubusson, who was wounded in five places, fought beside Prince William, who suffered injuries to both arms and led a brave defence, eventually forcing the Ottoman's to retreat. By August the Ottomans gave up in their attempt to capture Rhodes.

Upon his return from Rhodes he married Anne of Savoy in 1482, who gave birth to a son, Richard two years later. Richard died when he was two weeks old. Anne fell pregnant two more times in the next two years, but lost both babies during pregnancy.

King of Normandy
In 1486, Arthur I, King of Normandy died and William was proclaimed King of Normandy and Jerusalem, at the age of 35. When he became King, Normandy had been at war with the Ottomans for a year and William continued the war.

Ottoman-Mamluk War
William's father, King Arthur had dispatched his most trustworthy noble, James II de Lusignan, Duke of Cyprus, to the Holy Land along with two of William's brothers, Albert, Prince of Brittany and Edward, Prince of Surrey. The Norman-Mamluk alliance worked together to defend Cilicia from the Ottoman invasion.

The war lasted 7 years withe the Norman-Mamluk alliance successfully defending Anatolia region, which meant the Kingdom of Jerusalem was safe from any future Ottoman attack.

Upon return to Normandy, a storm destroyed the Norman fleet. Half of the fleet managed to limp into Malta. Neither Prince Albert or Prince Edward's ships survived the storm.

Death of William
William showed little interest in the running of the Kingdom, which he left to the Kings Council. Instead he occupied his time with hunting expeditions. It was during one of these hunting expeditions in Surrey that William was thrown from his horse and died in 1492.

Upon William's death, the throne passed to his brother, Loui, Prince of Sussex.