Roger inherited his father’s estates in 1055. By the time of the
Council of Lillebonne, which took place in about January of 1066, he was one of William the Conqueror's principal counsellors, playing a major role at the Council. He may not have fought in the initial invasion of England in 1066, instead staying behind to help govern Normandy. According to
Wace's
Roman de Rou, however, he commanded the Norman right flank at Hastings, returning to Normandy with King William in 1067. Afterward, he was entrusted with land in two regions critical for the defence of the
Kingdom of England. At the end of 1067 or early in 1068, William gave Roger nearly all of what is now the county of
West Sussex, a total of 83 manors, which amounted to some seven-eighths of the whole county; Roger was one of the half-dozen greatest magnates in England during William the Conqueror's reign. The Rape of Arundel was eventually split into two "rapes", one keeping the name of Arundel, the other being called the
Rape of Chichester. The income from Roger's estates amounted to about £2,000 per year, and in 1086 the income of all the land in England was around £72,000. The £2,000 (equivalent to several million in 2022) was almost 3 per cent of the nation's
GDP. After William I's death in 1087, Roger joined with other rebels to overthrow the newly crowned king,
William II, in the
Rebellion of 1088. However, William was able to convince Roger to abandon the rebellion and to side with him. This worked out favourably for Roger, as the rebels were beaten and lost their land holdings in England. ==Family==