[JPhillips]

I had my most successful ruler in CK last night. I started as England with William. I started by solidifying the realm and then taking the Welsh lands to become king of England and Wales. I didn't want to take on Scotland so early, so after building up some money I set sail for the Holy Lands to complete the crusades. The Muslim states around Jerusalem had been fighting for a while and William the Conqueror marched his 7000 man army through enough counties to add the King of Jerusalem to his titles.

At this point William had an obscene amount of prestige(@4500) and a rather bad reputation. Philip Capet saw an opening, and France declared war. At this point Capet only owned one province and William had eyes on the French crown. I spent 4200 prestige to lay a claim on the French crown and mobilized my Normandy provinces. I ran all my Normandy troops to Ile de France and defeated Capet and took the province.

The peace settlement left William as king of England, Wales, Jerusalem, France and Aquitania with 17 Dukes as vassals. Less than a year later, a 73 year old William finally died.