ROBERT OF NORMANDY
Preparations for the long road to Jerusalem during the first crusade began when the Normans landed on a beach in the south of England – long before the crusades were envisaged. The success of the invasion of England was due to the meticulous planning by William, the then Duke of Normandy.
I was stationed in the Outer Hebrides for two years and could see the lingering devastation caused by the Highland Clearances; I wanted to understand where the root cause lay.
The trail led back through the Highland lairds and clan chieftains to the Normans. It was there that the obsession with land and power began. It was certainly the justification for throwing people off the land to be replaced by cattle and sheep; the response by the landowners to any public protest being, ‘It’s legal.’
Of course it was, they controlled the legal system and set the laws.
Along the way I came across Robert, the eldest son of William the Conqueror. Curious, I set out to discover why he had never become Robert I, King of England – and therein lies the story of The Wayward Prince.
I trust that you will enjoy the tale of what is, by any standards, a remarkable life.