This is Empress Matilda of England. She was born on February 7, 1102 and died on September 10, 1167. She was the daughter of Henry I of England and came very close to becoming the first queen of England (as it turns out England would not have its first female ruler until the tumultuous reign of Mary I in 1553). She was also the granddaughter of William the Conqueror. She is called Empress Matilda because she was married to Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, at the age of 12 (she was betrothed to him at age seven!). Upon his death in 1125, Matilda was left with no heir to his throne, and she returned to England. After her brother, William Adelin's, death by drowning, she was the only legitimate child of King Henry I. Her cousin, Stephen of Blois, survived, but her direct line of inheritance meant that she came before him in the line of succession. She was officially named by her father as his successor. Henry I made sure that all nobles and barons doubly signed to support Matilda's claim to the throne in the event of his death. Henry I died on December 1, 1135, and Matilda was away with her second husband in Anjou. While she was at a crucial distance, Stephen of Blois moved to steal the crown away from the rightful heir to the throne. Stephen was actually supported by most of the nobles and barons whom had signed their support to Matilda. Beginning in Normandy, Geoffrey (her second husband) and Matilda lead a military campaign that won nearly all of Normandy from Stephen. This lead to Geoffrey and Matilda becoming the Duke and Duchess of Normandy, respectively. It was not until 1139 that Matilda gained the military strength to challenge Stephen directly in England for her inheritance. In February 1141, Matilda's army defeated Stephen and took him captive. She took on the title of Lady of the English, and waited for her coronation. The people, who had largely been supportive of her, were ready to welcome her into London. Unfortunately, in a political misstep, Matilda refused to halve the Londoners taxes. This meant that the people turned their backs on her and closed to city gates. Stephen was free by November 1141, and was ready to fight Matilda again. After many more military defeats and the humiliation of having to pretend to be a corpse in order to escape, Matilda ceded the throne to her cousin. The entire Civil War was called "The Anarchy." The story, however, does not end there. After the death of Stephen's son, Eustace, Matilda's oldest son was named the rightful heir to the throne of England. Her son became Henry II. In fact, her grave reads "Great by Birth, Greater by Marriage, Greatest in her Offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry."
Matilda was the first woman to have a direct chance of becoming queen of England. While she did rule for a short time in 1141, most scholars do not place her as a monarch within British history. She fought for her inheritance, and I think we owe her at least the kindness of a mention in the history books. Even if she only ruled for a few months, she plunged England into a Civil War for those few months of power. She was so convinced that she deserved England (rightfully so) that she actually fought for her legitimate claim to the throne. It is a sad commentary on the sexism at the time that the nobles and barons would not support her like they said they would simply because she was a woman.
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Here is her Wikipedia Page
Here is the Wikipedia Page for The Anarchy (the Civil War)
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