Her marriage with Stephen would therefore associate another potential claimant to the crown with Henry’s house, and in this respect the marriage may be seen as part of ‘the dynastic chess game designed to make the Empress her father’s successor’.How, though, could Matilda of Boulogne have believed this when the claim of the Empress Matilda seemed so clear-cut? Matilda was a supporter of the Knights Templar. Might had to demonstrate that it was right. It required the consent of Theobald, the archbishop of Canterbury, with whom the royal couple had until recently enjoyed good relations. The Initially, the Empress had cause for optimism. Matilda I of Boulogne (c.1105 – 3 May 1152) was Queen of England as the wife of King Stephen, whom she supported in his struggle for the English throne against their cousin Empress Matilda.During this period, Matilda played an unusually active role for a woman of the period when her husband was captured, and proved herself an effective general who managed to force their cousin to release him. . One commentator, John of Hexham, noted that their personal rivalry was so intense that they seemed to be fighting a duel for the kingdom.Henry FitzEmpress held his first English court at Devizes, which was still pro-Angevin, on 13 April.
They gave their daughter Marie to God as a nun, and founded abbeys at Furness and Faversham. a.
The Empress herself appears to have objected to this match with a boy ten years her junior, and felt it as a disparagement, since Geoffrey barely had even a comital title, but in 1127, with Clito and Louis plotting against him, Henry had deemed an alliance with Anjou a necessity. Yet the three leading magnates who prosecuted the conflict, Robert of Gloucester, Miles of Gloucester and Brian FitzCount, were in receipt of Stephen’s confirmation of their holdings as granted under Henry I and the contention that inheritance law was not ratified in England until Henry II has been challenged. She was the daughter of Ida, Countess of Boulogne and her husband and co-ruler Renaud, Count of Dammartin. Stephen himself found them too disadvantageous and rejected them. The siege continued until December but the Empress made yet another escape, creeping out of the wintry city in a white cloak, invisible against the snow, and making her way to Abingdon accompanied by just a handful of knights. Her father’s territories had included the port of Wissant, a vital - and wealthy - centre for the Anglo-Flemish wool trade and a resource for channelling money and mercenaries to England to assist the King. In 1127, By then, though, Henry had attempted to shore up his daughter’s power by marrying her to Geoffrey of Anjou. But her parents’ hopes of cementing Waleran’s loyalty suffered a setback when Matilda and her brother Baldwin died in London the following year.
Events Matilda was a supporter of the Knights Templar. She travelled alone across the Channel and on 23 June held a court at Lens, in her county of Boulogne, in an attempt to raise funds and men.
He was susceptible to depression, as his illness ten years before had shown, and ‘what Stephen could not replace was the Queen’s steadfastness of purpose and steady judgement’.In many ways, Matilda of Boulogne was a model consort. With a great fleet of ships, they closed the narrow strait to prevent the garrison receiving any supplies.Thanks to the strategy Matilda deployed, in concert with her kinsman Pharamus of Boulogne, Dover was surrounded, with Matilda herself commanding the men who laid siege to the castle. On 7 November 1139, Robert of Gloucester successfully attacked Gloucester. 1288)3.Margaret (1192–1231), married January 1206 Gerhard III, Count of Guelders (d. October 22, 1229)4.Mathilde (c. 1200 – December 22, 1267), married in Aachen in 1212 Henry II, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1214), married on December 6, 1214 Floris IV, Count of Holland5.Henry II of Brabant (1207–1248), married firstly before 22 August 1215 Marie of Hohenstaufen; married secondly in 1240 Sophie of Thuringia6.Godfrey (1209 – January 21, 1254), Lord of Gaesbeek, married Marie van OudenaardeMatilde died in 1210 or 1211. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded this as a time during which “Christ and His saints slept”.Queen Matilda proved a redoubtable opponent to Maud. She offered herself as hostage in exchange, as well as castles and great riches. By entering your details, you are agreeing to HistoryExtra If Henry wanted to make good his own claim after the Empress’s return to Normandy, he would have to deal with the problem of the rival heir, Stephen’s son Eustace.
People She succeeded her mother as Countess of Boulogne in 1216. Queen Matilda of Boulogne (1105 – May 3, 1152) was the wife of Stephen of England.She also became the Countess of Boulogne when her father died in 1125.. Matilda was born in Boulogne, France.She was the daughter of Eustace III of Boulogne and Mary of Scotland.Matilda's mother, Mary, was the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland.