Because French was the official language of England for about 300 years, from

1066 to 1362. Thus, there was a strong influence of the French language on
culture and the English language.

French words entered the English language, and a further sign of the shift was
the usage of French names instead of English ones. Male names changed first,
with names such as William, Robert, Richard, becoming common quickly.
Female names changed more slowly. One area where the Norman invasion did
not change naming practices was in placenames, which unlike the earlier
invasions by the Vikings and Cnut, did not significantly change after the Norman
Conquest. It is unknown how much English the Norman invaders learned, nor
how much the knowledge of French spread amongst the lower classes, but the
demands of trade and simple communication probably meant that bilingualism
was not unknown amongst both the Normans and the native English.

With the coming of the 13th century, England became trilingual where French,
Latin, and English lived side by side: the first was the language of the court and
literature, the second was the language of the church and law, and the third was
the language of common intercourse. By the end of the 13th century, French
became a foreign language in England. In 1413, English became the official
language of the court. Some of the French words have kept their original
spelling in Modern English and this may cause a problem to the reader,
especially translator, who has no knowledge of this language.