"My uncle, Prime Minister Ladolph, you are the eldest of my Normandy family, and I want you to be little Richard's godfather and guardian." William explained his purpose to Prime Minister Ladolph.

A few weeks after Richard's birth, he was to be infanticidly baptized according to Christian tradition, which signified Richard Jr.'s acceptance of the Christian faith, and the role of the church father was to give Richard Jr. a Christian name at the time of his baptism and to undertake his religious education.

The godfather is the male guardian and protector of the baptized person in the Catholic Church, he is the second father of the child, and usually needs a local person of prestige and authority to act as the godfather of the child, and the Duke of Ladolph, as the prime minister of the kingdom and the elder of William, is very suitable.

"It is an honor, my majesty." Ladolph stood up and bowed in response, "Your Majesty, I would like to be the godfather of Little Richard, but I am still apprehensive about being able to take on this great responsibility, and I hope that Master Hubert and Master Rodrigo will become Little Richard's guardians together." ”

"Prime Minister Ladolph, that's exactly what I mean." William nodded to Prime Minister Ladolph, turned to Duke Hubert and Duke Rodrigo and asked, "Lord Hubert, Lord Rodrigo, would you like to be Richard's guardian?" ”

"We do, Your Majesty!" The two responded in unison.

"Very well, folks, I have one thing to announce, and this matter is also related to you." After receiving an affirmative reply from the two, William smiled and nodded, and said, "I will divide the four counties of Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, and Lincolnshire to my son Richard as a prince, and canonize him as the Prince of York (duke)." ”

There is a long tradition of canonizing princely titles to heirs, such as the Carolingian kingdom of West Francia, whose powerful monarch, King of West Francia and Frankish Emperor Charles the Bald, canonized the kingdom of Aquitaine in southwestern France to his heir, his eldest son Louis "stammered".

The Kingdom of Aquitaine was a division and prince of the Carolingian Kingdom of West Francia, which was a tradition handed down from the Frankish Empire, and successive Carolingian monarchs were kings of Aquitaine.

The Kingdom of England also has the tradition of canonizing the heir prince, the Prince of Wales is the title of the crown prince of later generations, and since the conquest of Wales in 1301 in history, each generation of the crown prince will be crowned with the title of Prince of Wales, and it can be said that the Prince of Wales is synonymous with the crown prince.

William, however, was different here, as he had conquered Wales and Ireland early, which had already been canonized by William to meritorious men, and could not be canonized to his son.

Although rebellions still broke out in Ireland and Wales from time to time, there were no disturbances due to the presence of several dukes. However, the counties of Yorkshire and the Duchy of Northumbria in the north of England often broke out in rebellions, the largest of which was Ossoff. Bamburgh united with the Scottish rebellion.

William was overwhelmed by these northern territories of England, and was concerned about the northern counties in the face of the Kingdom of Scotland and the threat of the Danes and Norwegians.

The canonization of Crown Prince Richard as Duke of York, replacing William in ruling the northern counties and ruling the earls on the northern frontier was the result of William's careful consideration.

On the one hand, William could let the adult Richard take charge of the northern territories of England in his place, rule over the princes, and penetrate the royal power into the northern territories of England, which William could not reach. Because Richard is William's heir, canonizing Richard as Duke of York will not lose any of William's direct territories, after all, Richard is the crown prince of England, and the meat is still rotten in the pot.

On the other hand, William also hoped that Richard could exercise his governing ability in the complex Duchy of York and the northern counties of England, and pull out a set of Richard's own team, at least when he inherited the throne, he could have a trusted nobleman to appoint and have direct troops to rely on.

"Your Majesty, the situation in the northern counties of England, with the exception of Lincolnshire, the counties of Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland, is very complicated, and there are many English people in the countryside who are hostile to us.

Therefore, it is not suitable for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is not yet a month, to take the position of Duke of York, it is too dangerous! ”

The first to speak out against it was Duke Rodrigo, the governor of Yorkshire and the north of England, who stood up and spoke in an agitated tone.

William knew that Duke Rodrigo was also out of a public heart, and it was indeed a bit terrifying to canonize a newborn crown prince as a duke, he smiled and raised his hand to signal everyone to relax, and said:

"Lord Rodrigo, my lords, little Richard will not be in charge of the Duchy of York himself until he reaches adulthood, and these realms will still be governed by government officials like my direct territories.

In the meantime, Lord Rodrigo, you will be the regent of Richard the Younger, administering the affairs of the Duchy of York and the northern counties in his place.

Lord Rodrigo, you are to assist little Richard in teaching him how to lead the army, how to handle government affairs, and how to manage relations with the nobles, all of which are your duties as regent of the Duchy of York. ”

William's arrangement was so convincing to the crowd that they could not find fault with it and thought it was reasonable.

"It is my pleasure, Your Majesty." Duke Rodrigo solemnly knelt down in front of William and said.

"Duke Hubert, Duke Rodrigo, Prime Minister Ladolph, Richard's affairs, please bother with it." William please.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Everyone responded to the word.

After arranging everything, the three of them exited the study, while Osborne's butler was left alone by William, and it seemed that there was something to be explained alone.

"Osborne, you have followed me for many years, you are the person I trust the most, and I have some things to explain to you alone." William looked at Osborne and spoke.

"Your Majesty, you just command." Osborne, as always, remained respectful.

"Osborne, I have many enemies, both overtly and covertly, all of whom are eyeing me, and little Richard is my only son and heir, my only weakness, and I must protect him from any harm, you know?

I don't want little Richard to be like me, going through countless assassinations and living out his childhood in fear! William stared at Osborne and said in a deep voice.

William's worries have been present since Urakar became pregnant, and he fears that his enemies will do whatever it takes to assassinate Richard Jr.

"Your Majesty, I will take someone to protect His Royal Highness Crown Prince Richard, and I will protect his safety with my life, I swear!" Osborne's old body exuded a resolute and powerful aura at the moment, and he swore to William.