Matilda of England

Matilda of England (also called Maud; 1156 – 13 July 1189) was the eldest daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Through her marriage with Henry the Lion, she was Duchess of Saxony and later of Bavaria. Matilda was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. She was a younger sister of William, Count of Poitiers and Henry the Young King. She was also an older sister of Richard I of England, Geoffrey... more

Matilda of England (also called Maud; 1156 – 13 July 1189) was the eldest daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Through her marriage with Henry the Lion, she was Duchess of Saxony and later of Bavaria. Matilda was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. She was a younger sister of William, Count of Poitiers and Henry the Young King. She was also an older sister of Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine, Joan of England and John of England. Matilda seems to have spent much of her early life in the company of her mother, Queen Eleanor. In 1165 Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, arrived at the court of King Henry II at Rouen, to negotiate a German match for Matilda. There was conflict during the negotiations, however, when Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester refused to greet the archbishop, alleging him to be a schismatic and a supporter of the anti-pope, Victor IV. The original plan to... less