AOL Web Search

William II, the last Norman king of Sicily; under a regency from 1166, he ruled in person from 1171. He became known as William the Good because of his policy of clemency and justice toward the towns and the barons, in contrast with his father, William I the Bad.

William II (French language: Guillaume II, 1155 – November 11, 1189 Palermo), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. William was only eleven years old at the death of his father William I, when he was placed under the regency of his mother, Margaret of Navarre.

William I (1120 or 1121 – May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( Sicilian: Gugghiermu lu Malu ), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile .

William I and II built their palaces, La Zisa and La Cuba in the midst of the park of Genoardo, which takes its name from the Arabic phrase Jannat al-ard, meaning “earthly paradise.” La Zisa (1164–75) towers over a landscape of fertile gardens, embellished by fountains and large ponds, formed by impressive feats of hydraulic engineering.

William II (December 1153 – 11 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo.