by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester is the wife of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Birgitte Eva Henrisksen was born in Thomas Kingos Parish in Odense, Denmark on June 20, 1946.  She is the daughter of Asger Preben Knud Wissing Henriksen, a lawyer, and Vivian van Deurs. When her parents divorced, Birgitte started using her mother’s maiden name, van Deurs, as her surname.

Birgitte received her early education in her hometown of Odense, Denmark and her secondary education at Brillantmont International School in Lausanne, Switzerland. She also attended the Margrethe School in Copenhagen, Denmark also known as the Scandinavian Academy of International Fashion and Design. The school’s name refers to its first patron, Princess Margrethe of Denmark who married Prince René of Bourbon-Parma. Princess Benedikte, sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, cousin of Queen Margrethe II also attended Margrethe School. Princess Benedikte became the patron of the school.

It was while attending the Bell School of Languages in Cambridge, England that Birgitte met her husband, Prince Richard of Gloucester. Prince Richard was studying architecture at Magdalene College, Cambridge University. As the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (third son of King George V of the United Kingdom), Prince Richard expected to have to earn his own way and planned a career as an architect as his elder brother Prince William would become Duke of Gloucester upon their father’s death. Prince Richard received his Bachelor of Arts in June 1966 and subsequently received his Master of Arts in 1971. Upon completion of his training, Prince Richard went into practice as a partner in a London architectural firm. In 1971, Birgitte was also working in London as a secretary at the Danish Embassy.

Birgitte and Prince Richard became engaged in February 1972 and were married on July 8, 1972, at St. Andrew’s Church in Barnwell, Northamptonshire, England nearby the Gloucester family home Barnwell Manor.  Birgitte was then styled Her Royal Highness Princess Richard of Gloucester. Prince Richard’s father was unable to attend the wedding. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester had suffered his first stroke in 1965 and subsequent strokes required him to use a wheelchair and rendered him unable to speak for his remaining years.

First row, seated: Princess Alice of Albany; Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester; The Queen Mother; Vivian van Deurs Second row, standing: Prince Michael of Kent; Princess Margaret; The Prince of Wales; Prince Richard of Gloucester; Birgitte van Deurs; Prince William of Gloucester; two members of Birgitte’s family; Asger Henriksen; Photo Credit – orderofsplendor.blogspot.com

Shortly after the wedding, on August 28, 1972, Prince Richard’s elder brother Prince William crashed his plane in a flying competition and died. (See Unofficial Royalty: Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the end of August, scroll down) This terrible tragedy left Prince Richard first in line to his father’s dukedom and increased his family obligations and royal duties. Therefore, he resigned his partnership in the architectural firm and began to represent his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, at royal engagements.

On June 10, 1974, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester died and Prince Richard succeeded his father as Duke of Gloucester. Birgitte was then styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester’s official residence is at Kensington Palace in London. In 2019, they moved from the large Apartment 1 to the Old Stables, a smaller residence that is also located within the Kensington Palace grounds. They have leased out their private home Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire, England since 1994.

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Princess Alice with her son the Duke of Gloucester, daughter-in-law the Duchess of Gloucester and her grandchildren, Lady Davina Windsor, Lady Rose Windsor, and Alexander the Earl of Ulster celebrating her 100th birthday in 2001

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester have three children:

• Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster (born 1974) married Claire Booth. The couple had two children:
  • Xan Richard Anders Windsor, Lord Culloden (born 2007)
  • Lady Cosima Rose Alexandra Windsor (born 2010)
• The Lady Davina Elizabeth Alice Benedikte Lewis (born 1977), married Gary Lewis, divorced in 2018.  The couple had two children:
  • Senna Kowhai Lewis (born 2010)
  • Tāne Mahuta Lewis (born 2012)
• The Lady Rose Victoria Birgitte Louise Gilman (born 1980), married George Gilman. The couple had two children:
  • Lyla Beatrix Christabel Gilman (born 2010)
  • Rufus Gilman (born 2012)

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The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attending the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in 2019

The Duchess of Gloucester carried out many public engagements on behalf of her patronages and organizations and in support of her husband’s first cousin Queen Elizabeth II. She also supported The Queen at official engagements such as state banquets, religious services, garden parties, and receptions. The Duchess of Gloucester also made official overseas visits as a representative of The Queen with and without her husband. She continues to carry out engagements and represents her husband’s first cousin once removed King Charles III.

In 2024, The Duchess of Gloucester was made a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter by King Charles III.  This appointment is very significant, as Royal spouses (other than the spouse of the Sovereign or the Heir) are not traditionally invested in the Order of the Garter.  This is in recognition of her many years of support to both Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III.

The Duchess’ patronages include:

• Bliss, the special care baby charity
• St Paul’s Cathedral School
• St John’s School, Leatherhead
• Bridewell Royal Hospital (King Edward’s School, Witley)
• Royal Academy of Music

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Tomb of Joan of Navarre and her husband King Henry IV in Canterbury Cathedral; Photo Credit: Susan Flantzer

Joan of Navarre was born around 1370 in Pamplona in the Kingdom of Navarre, now in present-day Spain. Originally named Jeanne after her mother and her paternal grandmother Jeanne II, Queen of Navarre, her name was anglicized as Joan or Joanna after she became Queen of England. Joan’s father was Charles II, King of Navarre who lived up to the nickname Charles the Bad. Joan’s mother was Jeanne of Valois, daughter of Jean II, King of France, called Jean the Good. Joan’s mother died when Joan was about three years old.

Joan had six siblings:

• Marie (1360 – after 1400), married Alfonso d’Aragona, Duke of Gandia, no issue
• Charles III, King of Navarre (1361–1425), married Eleanor of Castile, had issue
• Bonne (1364 – after 1389)
• Peter, Count of Mortain (circa 1366 – 1412), married Catherine of Alençon, no issue
• Philip (born and died 1368)
• Blanche (1372–1385)

When Joan was around 16 years old, she became the third wife of Jean IV, Duke of Brittany who was around thirty years older. Jean previously had married two English brides, Mary of Waltham, the daughter of King Edward III of England, and Joan Holland, the daughter of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent. Both marriages were childless.

Joan and Jean had nine children:

• Jeanne of Brittany (1387 – 1388)
• Daughter (1388)
• Jean V, Duke of Brittany (1389–1442) married Joan of France; had issue
• Marie of Brittany (1391 – 1446) married John I of Alençon; had issue
• Marguerite of Brittany (1392 – 1428) married Alain IX, Viscount of Rohan and Count of Porhoët
• Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (1393 – 1458) married 1) Margaret of Burgundy; 2) Joan of Albret; 3) Catherine of Luxembourg-Saint-Pol; no legitimate issue from his three marriages
• Gilles of Brittany (1394 – 1412)
• Richard of Brittany (1395 – 1438) married Margaret d’Orléans, Countess of Vertus; had issue
• Blanche of Brittany (1397 – aft. 1419), married John IV, Count of Armagnac; had issue

Jean IV, Duke of Brittany died in 1399 and Joan became regent for her eldest son Jean V, Duke of Brittany for two years until he came of age at the age of 12. Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV of England, visited the court of Brittany in 1399. He had been banished from England by his cousin King Richard II of England who Henry overthrew later that same year. Henry made a good impression on Joan and she was determined to marry him if the opportunity should arise. In 1402, after Joan’s son came of age, she sent an emissary to England to arrange a marriage with Henry. Henry’s first wife Mary de Bohun died in childbirth in 1394 giving birth to her seventh child. Henry was agreeable to the marriage and a proxy marriage was held on April 3, 1402, with Joan’s emissary standing in for the bride.

Joan left France for England in January of 1403 with her two youngest daughters and had an uncomfortable, stormy crossing. Her ship, due to land at Southampton, was blown off course by the terrible weather and finally landed in Falmouth in Cornwall. She traveled to Winchester where Henry met her and they were married at Winchester Cathedral on February 7, 1403. They traveled to London where Joan’s coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on February 26, 1403.

At the time of their marriage, Henry was about 37 and Joan was about 35, but they had no children together. Joan got along well with her stepchildren especially Henry of Monmouth, Prince of Wales, the future King Henry V of England. In his last years, King Henry IV suffered from a disfiguring disease (possibly leprosy, syphilis, or psoriasis) and had severe attacks (possibly from epilepsy or cardiovascular disease).  While in prayer at the shrine of Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, Henry suffered a fatal attack, possibly a stroke.  He was carried to the Jerusalem Chamber, a room in the house of the Abbey’s abbot, where he died at age 45.  Henry was not buried at Westminster Abbey but instead requested that he be buried at Canterbury Cathedral, presumably because of an affinity towards St. Thomas Becket whose shrine was there.

King Henry V held his stepmother in the highest regard as shown by his appointing “his dearest mother” as regent in 1415 when he went to France and gained his great victory at the Battle of Agincourt.  After the battle, Joan walked in the procession from St. Paul’s Cathedral to Westminster Abbey for a service of thanksgiving, but she must have had ambivalent feelings. One of her sons-in-law died on the French side in the battle and her son Arthur, who was taken prisoner, spent five years as a prisoner at the Tower of London and Fotheringay Castle.

In 1418, while King Henry V was once again fighting in France and his brother John, Duke of Bedford was acting as regent, Joan was suddenly arrested and accused of using witchcraft to poison the king. She was sent to Pevensey Castle in Sussex, England where she was kept for four years until she was released in 1422. She lived quietly through the reign of King Henry V and into the reign of his son King Henry VI. Joan died on June 10, 1437, at her favorite residence, Havering Palace in the village of Havering-atte-Bower in what is now the London Borough of Havering, at the age of about 67. She was buried with King Henry IV at Canterbury Cathedral.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Lancaster Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Lancaster Index
• British Royal Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Important Events
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• History and Traditions: Norman and Plantagenet Weddings
• House of Lancaster Burial Sites

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Portrait of unknown sitter thought to be Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury; Credit – Wikipedia

One of the few surviving members of the Plantagenet dynasty after the Wars of the Roses, Margaret was born on August 14, 1473, at Farleigh Hungerford Castle in Somerset, England. Her father was George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York who was the York claimant during the Wars of Roses until his death at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460.  Margaret’s paternal uncles were the Yorkist monarchs King Edward IV and King Richard III.  Margaret’s mother was Lady Isabel Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker of the Wars of the Roses) who was also killed at the Battle of Wakefield. Margaret’s maternal aunt was Anne Neville who was married to King Henry VI‘s only child, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales until his death at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Later, Anne married King Richard III.

Margaret had three siblings but only one sibling survived early childhood:

• Anne of Clarence (born and died 1470), born and died on a ship off Calais
• Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (1475 – 1499), executed
• Richard of Clarence (1476 – 1477)

Margaret’s mother Isabel died when Margaret was three years old. Now it is thought that Isabel died of either tuberculosis or childbed fever, but George, Duke of Clarence thought his wife had been poisoned by a servant who was subsequently tried and hanged. When Margaret was four-years-old, her father was tried for treason against his brother King Edward IV and privately executed in the Tower of London. Margaret and her younger brother Edward were placed in the care of their maternal aunt Anne Neville. In 1485, the last Yorkist king, Richard III, was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth and the Lancaster claimant Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond assumed the throne as King Henry VII. Henry VII then married Margaret’s first cousin Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of King Edward IV.

After the rise of the Tudors, the remaining members of the House of York were systematically dealt with through marriage, imprisonment, and eventually, execution. Margaret’s brother Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, the next male Yorkist claimant to the throne, was held at the Tower of London until he was executed in 1499. It was thought at the time that Edward was executed in response to pressure from King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile to ensure there would be no potential heirs who could jeopardize the eventual accession to the throne of King Henry VII’s heir Arthur who was to marry Ferdinand and Isabella’s daughter Catherine of Aragon.

Sometime between 1491 and 1494, King Henry VII arranged for Margaret to marry Sir Richard Pole. It is thought that this marriage was arranged because Sir Richard’s mother was a half-sister of the king’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort and this would make it more difficult to use her in a plot to overthrow the Tudors. Margaret and Richard had five children:

• Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu (c. 1492 – 1539) married Jane Neville, daughter of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny; had issue; was one of the peers in the trial of Anne Boleyn; beheaded for treason during the reign of King Henry VIII
• Reginald Pole (c. 1500 – 1558) Cardinal, Papal Legate, and last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Queen Mary I.
• Sir Geoffrey Pole of Lordington (c. 1501 – 1558) married Constance Pakenham, granddaughter and heiress of Sir John Pakenham; had issue; suspected of treason by King Henry VIII by conspiring with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, lived in exile in Europe
• Sir Arthur Pole of Broadhurst (c. 1502 – 1535) married Jane Lewknor, daughter of Roger Lewknor; no issue
• Lady Ursula Pole (c. 1504 – 1570), married Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford; had issue

After the accession of King Henry VIII in 1509, Margaret was initially in favor at court. She was created Countess of Salisbury in her own right in 1513, and was godmother and later governess of Mary Tudor (later Queen Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Some of the lands the family lost when George, Duke of Clarence was attainted were restored and Margaret became the fifth richest English peer.

Margaret had a strong and independent personality and eventually angered the king. In 1539, Margaret was accused of conducting treasonable correspondence with her son Cardinal Pole, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Parliament passed an Act of Attainder and Margaret lost all her land and her title. It is suspected that the charges and the evidence were fabricated by Thomas Cromwell who fell out of favor himself and was executed in 1540.

On May 27, 1541, Margaret was told that she would be executed that day. She argued that there was no proof that she had committed a crime. The 67-year-old Margaret was dragged to the block at Tower Green where she refused to place her head saying, “So should traitors do, and I am none.” The inexperienced executioner proceeded to “hack her head and shoulders to pieces” with ten blows of the ax. Margaret was buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London. Pope Leo XIII beatified her as a martyr of the Roman Catholic Church on December 29, 1886, and she is known as Blessed Margaret Pole. Her feast day should coincide with the day of her martyrdom, however, May 27 was already in use as the feast of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, so Margaret’s feast day is May 28.

Tower Green, the site of the scaffold where Margaret Pole and others were executed inside the Tower of London; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Anne of Bohemia with her husband King Richard II of England; Credit: Wikipedia

Born on May 11, 1366, in Prague, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic), Anne of Bohemia was the eldest child of Karl IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, and his fourth wife, Elizabeth of Pomerania.

Anne had five siblings:

• Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia and Margrave of Brandenburg (1368–1437), married (1) Mary of Hungary, no surviving issue (2) Barbara of Celje, had issue
• John of Görlitz, Margrave of Moravia and Duke of Görlitz (1370–96), married Richardis Catherine of Sweden, had issue
• Charles (1372 – 1373)
• Margaret of Bohemia (1373–1410), married John III, Burgrave of Nuremberg, had issue
• Henry (1377–78)

Anne had three half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Blanche of Valois:

• Son (b.1334), died young
• Margaret of Bohemia (1335 – 1349), married King Louis I of Hungary, no issue
• Catherine of Bohemia (1342–95), married (1) Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, no issue (2) Otto V, Duke of Bavaria, Elector of Brandenburg, no issue

Anne had one half-sibling from her father’s second marriage to Anna of Bavaria:

• Wenceslaus (1350–51)

Anne had three half-siblings from her father’s third marriage to Anna von Schweidnitz:

• Elisabeth of Bohemia (1358 – 1373), married Albert III, Duke of Austria, no issue
• Wenceslaus, King of Germany (formally King of the Romans), King of Bohemia (as Wenceslaus IV) and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1361–1419), married (1) Joanna of Bavaria, no issue (2) Sophia of Bavaria, no issue
• Son (born and died 1362)

In 1377, King Edward III of England died after a 50-year reign and because his eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) had died the previous year, he was succeeded by his grandson King Richard II who was ten years old.  When Richard was 15, a bride was sought for him, and Anne of Bohemia seemed a logical choice as Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire were seen as potential allies against France in the ongoing Hundred Years’ War.  However, the potential marriage was unpopular with the nobility and members of Parliament because Anne brought no dowry.

Richard’s tutor and his father’s close friend Sir Simon de Burley went to negotiate the marriage contract and then escort the 15-year-old bride-to-be to England.  After Anne arrived in Dover, England, a huge wave wrecked her ship and this was seen as a bad omen.  The young couple was married at Westminster Abbey on January 20, 1382, the fifth royal wedding at the Abbey.  It was not until the wedding of Princess Patricia of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and Alexander Ramsay in 1919, 537 years later, that another royal wedding was held at Westminster Abbey.

Anne is credited with introducing two fashion items in England.  Women had ridden horses astride, or pillion, seated sideways on a cushion behind the male rider’s saddle.  It is said that Anne introduced the earliest sidesaddle in England, which was chair-like with the woman sitting sideways on the horse with her feet on a small footrest. Anne also introduced the horned headdress, two feet tall and wide, shaped like a crescent moon, and draped with gauze or net.

14th-century fashion; Photo: Wikipedia

Although Anne was initially unpopular, she became known as “Good Queen Anne” because of her kind-hearted ways.  She was known to intercede on behalf of numerous people to obtain pardons.  Shortly after her marriage, she obtained pardons for participants in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.  In 1388, she unsuccessfully pleaded for the life of Sir Simon de Burley, who had escorted her to England.  In 1392, she mediated a reconciliation between the city of London and her husband, resulting in a spectacular royal progress through the city with the King and Queen on horseback wearing their crowns. However, Anne of Bohemia failed to fulfill a queen’s most important duty.  During the twelve years of her marriage, she failed to produce an heir to the throne.

In June of 1394, Anne became ill with the plague while at Sheen Palace with her husband.  She died three days later on June 7, 1394, at the age of 28.  King Richard II was so devastated by Anne’s death that he ordered Sheen Palace to be destroyed. For almost 20 years it lay in ruins until King Henry V started a rebuilding project in 1414.  King Richard gave Anne a magnificent funeral.  The funeral procession made its way from Sheen Palace to Westminster Abbey lit by candles and torches made from wax specially imported from Flanders.  Those in the procession were dressed all in black and wore black hoods.  King Richard was angered when Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel arrived late for the funeral.  The king struck the earl in the face with his scepter.

Funeral Procession of Anne of Bohemia; Credit: Wikipedia

Richard had a tomb built for his wife at Westminster Abbey.  Unusually, he had his effigy made to lie alongside Anne’s on the tomb with their hands clasped, although their hands eventually broke off.  King Richard II married a second time to six-year-old Isabella of Valois in 1396 and that marriage was also childless.  In 1399, King Richard II was deposed and imprisoned by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke (who became King Henry IV), son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.  He died in Pontefract Castle on or about February 14, 1400, probably from starvation, although it is possible he was murdered.  Richard was originally buried at Kings Langley Priory in Hertfordshire, England.  When King Henry V came to the throne in 1413, he ordered that the remains of King Richard II be transferred to Westminster Abbey to join Anne in the tomb Richard had built for them in the St. Edward the Confessor Chapel, next to the tomb of Richard’s grandfather King Edward III.

Tomb of King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia in Westminster Abbey; Photo Credit – http://www.westminster-abbey.org

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Plantagenet Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Plantagenet Index (1216 – 1399)
• British Royal Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Important Events
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• History and Traditions: Norman and Plantagenet Weddings
• House of Plantagenet Burial Sites

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

A depiction of Queen Matilda in a family tree; Credit – Wikipedia

During the 12th century in a period called The Anarchy, two Matildas who were the daughters of two sisters, Matilda of Scotland and Mary of Scotland fought each other for control of England. Matilda of Scotland and her sister Mary of Scotland were the daughters of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Through their mother, they were descendants of the Saxon kings in England.

Matilda of Scotland married King Henry I of England and their daughter was Matilda of England, known as Empress Matilda from her first marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Henry V.  Mary of Scotland married Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and their daughter Matilda of Boulogne married Stephen of Blois, the future King Stephen of England.  Stephen of Blois and Empress Matilda were first cousins, both grandchildren of King William I of England (the Conqueror).

A note about names: Matilda-Maud-Maude were interchangeable names. Matilda was the Latin or Norman form and Maud/Maude was the Saxon form.
About.com: Matilda or Maud?
Appellation Mountain: Name of the Day: Maud
Behind the Name: Matilda
Behind the Name: Maud

Matilda of Boulogne was born circa 1105 and was the only child of her parents Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and Mary of Scotland. Upon her father’s death in 1125, Matilda became Countess of Boulogne in her own right.  Boulogne was a county within the Kingdom of France from 896 – 1501, centered on the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, a coastal city in Northern France. The same year, King Henry I of England arranged for his nephew Stephen of Blois to marry Matilda.

Stephen and Matilda had three sons and two daughters:

• Baldwin of Blois (c. 1126 – c. 2 Dec 1135)
• Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne (c. 1129 – 1153) married Constance of France, no issue
• Matilda of Blois (c. 1133 – c. 1137), married Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester, no issue
• Marie of Blois, Countess of Boulogne (1136 – 1182) married Matthew of Alsace, had issue
• William of Blois, Count of Boulogne (c. 1137 – 11 October 1159) married Isabel de Warenne, no issue

Five years before Matilda and Stephen married, a terrible tragedy caused a succession crisis.  The White Ship carrying King Henry I of England’s only son William Ætheling sank as it left France to sail to England, and William Ætheling drowned.  Empress Matilda was King Henry’s only legitimate child, and on Christmas Day of 1226, Henry had his barons swear to recognize Matilda and any future legitimate heirs she might have as his successors.

Unofficial Royalty: The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession

After the sinking of the White Ship, Stephen and Matilda stayed close to King Henry I and lived most of the time in England realizing that Stephen was very close to the throne.  Henry’s daughter Empress Matilda had left England as a child to marry Holy Roman Emperor Henry V.  The marriage was childless and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V died in 1125.  Empress Matilda went to the royal court in Normandy (Kings of England were also Dukes of Normandy). Eventually, King Henry I made arrangements for his daughter to marry Geoffrey of Anjou in 1128.  The marriage was not a happy one.  The couple often lived apart and failed to produce a child until 1133.

On December 1, 1135, King Henry I of England died.  Stephen of Blois, quickly crossed from Boulogne to England, accompanied by his military household.  With the help of his brother, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen seized power in England and was crowned king on December 22, 1135.  Matilda of Boulogne was unable to accompany her husband because she was pregnant, so she was crowned on Easter Day, March 22, 1136.  Empress Matilda did not give up her claim to England and Normandy, leading to the long civil war known as The Anarchy between 1135 and 1153.

During the civil war, Matilda of Boulogne proved to be her husband’s strongest supporter.  Matilda was as strong and resourceful as Stephen was weak and indecisive. When England was invaded in 1138, Matilda rallied troops from Boulogne and its ally Flanders, and successfully besieged Dover Castle.  She then went north to Durham, where she made a treaty with King David I of Scotland in 1139.  After Stephen was captured at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, she rallied Stephen’s supporters and raised an army with the help of William of Ypres, Stephen’s chief lieutenant.  It was Matilda who recaptured London for Stephen and forced Empress Matilda to withdraw from the siege of Winchester, leading to Stephen’s release in 1141 in exchange for the Empress’ illegitimate brother and her chief supporter Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester.

By the mid-1140s, the fighting had slowed down and there was a stalemate and the succession began to be the focus.  Empress Matilda returned to Normandy in 1147.  In the same year, the Empress’ husband and her eldest son Henry FitzEmpress, the future King Henry II,  mounted a small, unsuccessful mercenary invasion of England.  The Empress remained in Normandy where she focused on stabilizing the Duchy of Normandy and promoting her son’s rights to the English throne.

Matilda of Boulogne died of a fever on May 3, 1152, at Hedingham Castle in Essex, England.  She was buried at Faversham Abbey in Kent, England which she and her husband had established.  Perhaps if she had not died and her husband had not lost his strongest supporter, the result of the civil war would have turned out differently.

King Stephen holding a model of Faversham Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 17, 1153, Stephen and Matilda’s eldest surviving son Eustace died.  Ironically, this was the same day that the first child of Henry FitzEmpress, the future King Henry II, and Eleanor of Aquitaine was born.  The child, William IX, Count of Poitiers, survived for only two years, but he was followed by seven siblings, two of whom became Kings of England.

Shortly after Eustace’s death in 1153, Stephen and Henry FitzEmpress reached a formal agreement known as the Treaty of Wallingford (or Winchester or Westminster).  The treaty allowed Stephen to keep the throne until his death but forced him to recognize Empress Matilda’s son Henry FitzEmpress, as his heir.

The supposed tomb of King Stephen, his wife Matilda, and their son Eustace at St. Mary of Charity Church; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Stephen survived his wife by a little more than two years.  He died apparently of appendicitis at Dover Castle on October 25, 1154, and a line of 14 Plantagenet kings who ruled until 1485 started.  Stephen was buried with his wife Matilda and his son Eustace at Faversham Abbey which Stephen and Matilda had founded. All three tombs were lost when Faversham Abbey was demolished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII. Their remains were reportedly thrown into the nearby Faversham Creek. Their empty tombs were unearthed in 1964 near what had been the center of the choir. At St. Mary of Charity Church, the parish church in Faversham, there is a tomb where it is said that the remains of King Stephen, his wife Matilda, and his son Eustace were reinterred after the destruction of Faversham Abbey.

Sharon Kay Penman’s excellent historical fiction novel When Christ and His Saints Slept deals with The Anarchy and most of the historical figures mentioned here are characters.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Normandy Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Normandy Index
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• History and Traditions: Norman and Plantagenet Weddings
• House of Normandy Burial Sites
• The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession