Person    | Female  Born 7/2/1102  Died 10/9/1167

Empress Matilda / Empress Maud

Categories: Royalty

Countries: France

Maud / Maude / Matilda was the daughter of King Henry I. Married aged 12 to the future Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V, she moved to Germany and then Italy. When her husband died, 1125, her father moved her to Normandy to marry Geoffrey of Anjou.

On the death of her only sibling, William Adelin, her father named Matilda his successor but on his death Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois, claimed the throne. Battles ensued lasting almost 20 years, with Matilda in the combat headquarters, directing the campaign. She won sufficiently to make arrangements for her coronation at Westminster, in 1141, but a mob of Londoners, who supported Stephen, ran her out of London. She eventually left for Normandy where she stayed and finally died but her eldest son, by Geoffrey, did achieve the crown in 1154 to become Henry II.

Self-titled 'Lady of the English', had she been crowned she would have been England's first ruling queen. All English monarchs since 1154 have been descended from Matilda.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Empress Matilda / Empress Maud

Commemorated ati

Public Record Office - Empress Matilda

Ward-Jackson refers to this statue twice as 'Empress Mathilda' and once as 'E...

Read More

Other Subjects

King William IV, Duke of Clarence

King William IV, Duke of Clarence

The Duke of Clarence became King William IV (The Sailor King), reigning 1830 to 1837. Had a long live-in affair with the actress Mrs Jordan which produced 10 children, all given the surname FitzCla...

Person, Race Issues, Royalty

8 memorials
William, Prince of Wales

William, Prince of Wales

Royal prince. Born St Mary's Hospital Paddington, first son (the heir) of Prince Charles and his first wife, Princess Diana.  Married Catherine Middleton in 2011. Known as the Duke of Cambridge un...

Person, Royalty, Seriously Famous

6 memorials
Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I of Castile

Queen of Castile and León. Married to Ferdinand. Together they financed Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage. Their daughter Catherine was Henry VIII's first wife.  Their grandson (not Catherine's ch...

Person, Royalty, Spain

1 memorial
Maria Anna of Spain

Maria Anna of Spain

Infanta of Spain, daughter of King Phillip III. She was considered as a possible wife for Charles, Prince of Wales, (The future King Charles I) which became known as the 'Spanish Match'. In 1623 Ch...

Person, Royalty, Spain

1 memorial
Marina, Duchess of Kent

Marina, Duchess of Kent

Born Athens into the Greek, Danish and Russian royal families, amongst others. 1934 she married George, Duke of Kent, and their son is Edward, Duke of Kent. Died Kensington Palace.

Person, Royalty

2 memorials