Empress Matilda, also known as Matilda of England or Maude (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167) was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry. Her brother died young in the White ship disaster, leaving Matilda as the last heir from the paternal line of her grandfather William the Conqueror.
As a child, Matilda was betrothed and later marri...
more
Empress Matilda, also known as Matilda of England or Maude (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167) was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry. Her brother died young in the White ship disaster, leaving Matilda as the last heir from the paternal line of her grandfather William the Conqueror.
As a child, Matilda was betrothed and later married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. From her marriage to Henry, she acquired the title Empress. The couple had no known children. When widowed, she was married to the much younger Geoffrey of Anjou, by whom she became the mother of three sons, the eldest of whom became King Henry II of England.
Matilda was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of England. However the length of her effective rule was quite brief — a few months in 1141 — and she was never crowned and failed to consolidate her rule (legally and politically). Because of this she is...
less
