Robert contributed to the restoration of Henry, King of France, to his throne, and received from the gratitude of that monarch, the Vexin, as an addition to his patrimonial domains. In the 8th year of his reign, curiosity or devotion induced him to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where the fatigues of the journey and heat of the climate so impaired his constitution he died on his way home.

Some sources call him Robert I “the Magnificent.”

Robert I became the Duke of Normandy upon the death of his father in 1027 and reigned until his death in 1035. Robert named his illegitimate son, William (later to become William the Conquerer), his heir.

Robert died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.