Long before Normandy became known for changing the course of history after D-Day in 1944, it changed the course of history when a baby called Guillaume was born in 1028. This little boy grew up to become William the Conqueror, King of England, one of the main characters of history and a main character in the new historical drama miniseries on M-Net, King & Conqueror, starting 12 February on M-Net.

William was from Normandy, which today is part of France, which begs the question: was William actually French? These kinds of questions are the questions we’re here to answer – as best anyone can, given all this happened 960+ years ago – as we take you on a trip down history lane. Here’s your 101 on the European history you need to know before King & Conqueror lands.

Was William French?

Sort of. William was a Norman from Normandy. While mainland Normandy is part of France today, in Guillaume/William’s time it was only a duchy of France. However, he did marry a sort-of-French woman and when he conquered England, he made the English speak French. Nevertheless, William was actually a bit of a Viking. Normandy was a region invaded by the Vikings in the 9th century and named after them. In fact, William was the great-great-great grandson of Rollo, a famous Viking who came to rule Normandy. In that other beloved series of history, Vikings, a creative interpretation of Rollo is played by Clive Standen. Vikings were originally from Scandinavia (modern-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), which means the casting directors of King & Conqueror were very smart in casting Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to play William the Conqueror. You’ll remember Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, but you’ll hardly recognise him in King & Conqueror as he takes on the mantle of his new role.

Who did William marry?

As was/is so popular with royals, he married his (distant) cousin, Matilda of Flanders – played by French actress Clémence Poésy in King & Conqueror. Matilda was Flemish but descended from French kings and was a rather good match for William, especially since he was of less noble birth than her. William was, in fact, known as William the Bastard because his parents weren’t married. However, this was a title only conferred on him posthumously, in the 12th century, when the church imposed canon law, making children of unwed parents illegitimate.

Did William have a nemesis?

Absolutely! You don’t become known as William the Conqueror without making a few enemies along the way. Harold Godwinson – played by James Norton in King & Conqueror – could arguably be given this role. Harold was the son of the first Earl of Wessex and a Danish noblewoman. Harold would inherit his father's title, and eventually become the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. The Anglo-Saxons were a bunch of tribes who travelled to Britain in the 5th century from what is today Denmark, the Netherlands, and … Germany. Naturally! If you know anything about British royalty, you’ll know there’s usually a German somewhere in the mix. Harold allegedly made an oath to William to support his claim to the throne. However, this is often contested, with some claiming we don’t know whether Harold even swore any such allegiance in the first place or, if he did, that it wasn’t done under duress.

What was the Battle of Hastings?

Ja no, we’re not telling you that part. Watch King & Conqueror.

Is King & Conqueror historically accurate?

Many characters in the show are based on actual historical figures, like William, Harold, Matilda, and Harold’s wife Edith, played by Emily Beecham. Some characters are fictionalised and some have had their names changed. Very sensibly, the reason for the latter is to avoid confusion from too many people being called the same names. Besides which, not even history is always historically accurate. “History is written by the victors,” as someone or other once said (it wasn’t Churchill). The show takes liberties with history, but what show doesn’t? It’s called dramatic license, and it’s used to pique our interest in the past so that hopefully we can find a way of not repeating its mistakes.

King & Conqueror starts Thursday 12 February at 21:00 on M-Net channel 101.

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