According to the Historian Bede, prior to 1066 the native english were a cowardly bunch.
It would certainly explain why the previously much-invaded England has never been invaded since the stiffening provided by the infusion of Norman blood.
So we owed the French a lot, which we reciprocated by liberating them from the Nazis. I abhor the people (on both sides of the channel) who try to drive us apart.