After hearing reports on Geoffrey's talents, prowess and good looks, Henry I – the last Norman of England – arranged for his 25–year–old daughter Matilda to marry Geoffrey, who was ten years her junior.
Matilda had previously been married to Henry V, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, and was known as the Empress Matilda or the Empress Maud. She was only 22 years old in 1125, when the Emperor Henry died of cancer. The couple had been married for eleven years, but had no children.
In the 11th century (and for some time after it) the crown was expected to pass down through the male line, and so Matilda did not succeed to the throne. Henry entered negotiations to name his nephew, Stephen of Blois (a grandson of William I) as his heir, but then named his daughter Matilda instead. Following Henry's death, Stephen
Henry I's only legitimate male heir was William Adelin, who died in 1120 when the White Ship struck a submerged rock in the English Channel off Barfleur, Normandy, and sank. Only one person on board survived. Henry entered negotiations to name his nephew Stephen of Blois as his heir, but then named his daughter Matilda instead.
Stephen was the son of Adela, who was the ninth and last child (and fifth daughter) of William I. His father was Stephen II, Count of Blois. Blois was a city and county south of Paris; the Counts of Blois also held the city and county of Chartres.
When Henry died, Stephen invaded England and had himself crowned. The period that followed is known as The Anarchy, with open warfare between the respective supporters of Stephen and Matilda both in England and on the Continent for almost twenty years. (Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, had been married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, and was thus known as the Empress.)
© Haydn Thompson 2021