Born ‎ Aug 1102 at Winchester (or possibly London), died ‎ Sep 10, 1167 at Notre Dame, Rouen‎, 65 years, buried ‎ at Bec Abbey, Normandy; later removed to Rouen Cathedral
"Matilda was the daughter Of Henry I and was christened Adelaide at
birth. She adopted the name Matilda on her marriage in 1114 to the
German emperor, Henry V. Since she was only twelve at this time it was
clearly a political marriage a nd the young girl does not seem to have
been especially happy. Raised in the s trict atmosphere of the German
court, Matilda acquired a haughty, almost arroga nt nature, to some
extent inherited from her father. She was used to having he r own way
and found it difficult to make friends. When her husband died in 1125 ,
she returned to England to be acknowledged as heir to her father because
of t he death of her elder brothers some years earlier. Although the
barons swore t heir fealty they did not relish the idea of being ruled by
a woman, especially one who was now married a second time to the young
Count of Anjou. The Angevin s were longtime enemies of the Normans in
northern France, and if Matilda becam e Queen her husband, Geoffrey,
would almost certainly become King, and the Norm ans had even less desire
to be ruled by an Angevin. As a result, when Stephen claimed the throne
on Henry's death in 1135, the Norman barons soon rallied rou nd him. It
was not until May 1138, with the rebellion of Robert of Gloucester, an
illegitimate son of Henry I and thus half-brother of Matilda, that
Matilda' s cause gained any significant support. Matilda and Robert
landed in England, at Arundel, in September 1139. Robert escaped to
Bristol and was soon joined b y Matilda. For the next eight years
England was in the grip of a debilitating civil war. Matilda's hour came
after the defeat of Stephen, at Lincoln, on 2 Fe bruary 1141. Stephen's
support wilted, all except from his own Queen, also cal led Matilda.
Within a month the "Empress" Matilda had secured the support of H enry,
bishop of Winchester (Stephen's brother), which allowed her access to the
royal coffers. She arrived at London a few weeks later and in April was
decla red "Lady of the English". She still preferred to be known as
"Empress", but o ccasionally styled herself queen. Although preparations
were in hand for her c oronation, that never happened. Matilda rapidly
made herself unpopular. First she raised a tax on all the nobility, and
then she proposed to revoke the stat us of commune, which had been
granted to London by Stephen. This allowed Londo n to collect its own
taxes for its own benefits. Matilda wanted access to thes e taxes. Her
support in London rapidly dwindled, and when Stephen's queen, Mat ilda,
was able to bring her own forces from Kent, with William of Ypres, the "E
mpress" was driven out of London in June. She settled in Oxford,
although she spent some weeks in the complicated siege within a siege at
Winchester. It was during this and the following affrays in the
surrounding countryside that Robe rt of Gloucester was captured and
Matilda only narrowly escaped. Matilda neede d Robert as head of her
forces and as a consequence she had to trade for his re lease with the
release of Stephen from captivity in Bristol. Her advantage was lost and
by November Stephen had restored himself as king. A year later Matil da
found herself under siege at Oxford. She was able to escape from the
castle by rope from an open window and then, cloaked in white as
camouflage against t he snow, she crossed the frozen river and made her
way to Abingdon. Although h er forces scored occasional victories in the
ensuing months, it became a gradua l war of attrition which fizzled out
with the death of Robert of Gloucester in October 1147. Matilda returned
to Normandy in the following spring and never r eturned to England. She
continued to fight for the right of succession of her son, and indeed
outlived Stephen to witness her son succeed to the throne as He nry II.
Although she ruled as uncrowned queen for less than a yea

Born ‎ 1113, died ‎ 1151‎, 37 or 38 years
"Henry Fitzempress or Curtmantle was the eldest son of the empress
Matilda, who had briefly claimed the kingdom of England in 1141 during
the extended civil w ar. His father was Geoffrey, count of Anjou, who
became duke of Normandy in 11 44. Geoffrey was frequently known as
Plantagenet because of the sprig of broom he would wear in his cap, and
this soubriquet subsequently became the surname of his descendants and
the title of the royal house of England. Its official n ame, though, was
the house of Anjou and it would dominate England for over thre e hundred
and thirty years. It gave England some of its most powerful kings, i
ncluding the first Angevin, Henry II." see Henry II Plantagenet