Empress Matilda

4 days ago - In the final years of the war, Stephen began to focus on the issue of his family and the succession. He wanted to confirm his eldest son, Eustace, as his successor, although chroniclers recorded that Eustace was infamous for levying heavy taxes and extorting money from those on his lands.

But Stephen had only nominal control over most of the kingdom and was unable to enforce the law or mediate between warring nobles. He hoped only to secure the succession for his son, Eustace. Matilda's son Henry invaded England in 1153 to claim his royal inheritance. When Eustace died in August, under the Treaty of Wallingford, Stephen agreed that Henry should be his successor.

July 28, 1999 - He hoped only to secure the succession for his son, Eustace, but to do so he had to deal with Matilda’s son, Henry of Anjou, who invaded England in January 1153 to claim his royal inheritance.

June 18, 2023 - A chart I made showing how the English succession would have played out if King Stephen had kept the throne within his own line, and assuming male-preference primogeniture.

4 days ago - Henry returned to England once again at the start of 1153 with a small army, winning the support of some of the major regional barons. Neither side's army was keen to fight, however, and the Church brokered a truce; a permanent peace followed, under which Henry recognised Stephen as king, but became Stephen's adopted son and successor.

December 12, 2020 - A timeline chronology of the life of King Stephen of England 1097 - 1154 who became King after Henry I and challenged Matilda for the throne

November 17, 2023 - Matilda was nominated by her father as the heir to the throne of England, but in 1135 Stephen of Blois claimed that his uncle had changed his mind on his deathbed, recognising Stephen instead as his successor to the throne.

September 17, 2025 - His predecessor Henry I of England (r. 1100-1135 CE) had left no male heir and his nominated successor, his daughter Empress Matilda, was not to the liking of many powerful barons who preferred Stephen, the wealthiest man in England and nephew ...

Many of the barons promptly reneged on the oath they had sworn to the old king and turned to Henry's nephew. Stephen let himself be persuaded and within three weeks of the old king's death, the count of Blois became King Stephen of England.

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154), was the last Norman King of England. He reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his cousin Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet Kings.

December 31, 2024 - When King Henry I of England died in December 1135, it left the English succession disputed as his only legitimate heir, Empress Matilda, was abroad in Anjou, while his nephew Stephen of Blois was fortuitously placed in England.

February 22, 2024 - The king’s heir was now dead and England had a succession crisis on its hands. ... Henry I now had a tough decision to make. He knew that he could put Stephen forward as his successor but he also had a legitimate daughter, Matilda.

December 18, 2024 - At Winchester Cathedral, the Treaty of Winchester was announced, which stated that Stephen recognised Henry FitzEmpress as his adopted son and successor. In return, Henry would pay homage to Stephen, William (Stephen's other son) would pay homage ...

Died: 10th September 1167, Rouen, France Reign: 8th April 1141-1148 (as Lady of the English, though never as queen) Parents: Henry I and Matilda of Scotland Predecessor: Stephen of Blois (cousin) Successor: Stephen of Blois (cousin) Spouse: Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1114-1125) and then Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (1128-1151) Children: Henry II, Geoffrey Count of Nantes, William Fitzempress Royal House: Normandy

Stephen was knighted by his uncle, Henry I; was King 1135-54 although the crown was disputed by Empress Matilda and her English partisans--in 1153 he acknowledged her son Henry as his successor. He was a generous patron of religious foundations and a warrier of courage.

September 16, 2024 - On the death of Henry I in 1135, ... of his brother, the Bishop of Winchester, getting himself crowned first. Suddenly, young Eustace had gone from being the eldest son of a French noble to heir apparent to the English ...

Stephen fought stubbornly against Henry; Stephen even attempted to ensure his son Eustace's succession by having him crowned in 1152 in his own lifetime. The Church refused (having quarrelled with the king some years previously); Eustace's death later in 1153 helped lead to a negotiated peace (the treaty of Wallingford) under which Henry would inherit the throne after Stephen's death.

February 20, 2025 - When King Henry I died in 1135, Stephen and Matilda argued over who would become the ruler of England. Many English nobles were reluctant to accept a woman ruler, and Henry’s Norman subjects resented Matilda’s marriage into an Angevin family (the Normans and the Angevins were enemies). Many of Henry’s barons broke their vows and chose Stephen as Henry’s successor...