Empress Matilda: Female Lord of the English
Henry I of England, King from 1100 to 1135, towards the end of his reign, had notoriously at least 20 illegitimate offspring, and found himself in a predicament related to the succession. His marriage had been unfortunately less fruitful. His first wife, the pious Anglo-Saxon princess Edith Matilda, produced only two babies before she “ceased to either have offspring or desire them”. And his second, the much younger Adeliza of Louvain, failed to produce a replacement for his heir presumptive, William who drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120. Consequently, Henry’s only legitimate child was a daughter Matilda, who in 1127 was formally recognised as … Continue reading Empress Matilda: Female Lord of the English
