Queen Of England Matilda DE FLANDERS

  General Notes:

Countess of Flanders. Matilda was know for her formidable temper. William is said to have courted Matilda for seven years, from the time he met her when she was 14, to their wedding when she was 21. Matilda was the founder of the Holy Trinity Abbey, where she was buried.

Matilda of Flanders (1031-1083)

Matilda of Flanders, born in 1031. She was the daughter of Baudouin V Count of Flanders and Adele de France, wife of William the Conqueror. She was 4 ft. 2 in. and had 12 children. Matilda fell in love with Brittric of Avening Lord of Gloucester, He rejected her and she takes revenge when she marries William. She has Brittricthrown into prison where he dies. Although the Papacy disapproved their marriage, because they were to closely related; he marries her any way. At first Matilda rejects his proposal, she said "she would rather be a veiled nun than marry a bastard". William beat her until she changed her mind. They were married in 1051. William invades England on october 14, 1066. He is crowned King William I of England on Christmas day, 1066. Matilda wasn't crowned until 1068. The English didn't accept him as king and rebelled against him. William would reward his followers by giving them the lands of defeated Saxon Nobles in return for their military services.

In 1070 William and Matida had the Windsor Castle built. Which later after being added on to, to the needs of later kings and queens, became the largest castle in England. In 1083 William was at Matilda's bedside to pay his respects to his wife who would soon die. Matilda was very sick, and although she was a very strong women she was not able to old on any longer. Matilda died November 21, 1083, she was buried at caen. In 1085 two years before William himself would die, he ordered a survey of England to find out how much he should tax. It was all written down into a book called the Domesday Book. In 1086 he started to tax the landowners. Before he died William instructed his son Robert to succeed him in Normandy, and his son william II to take over England. William reigned 21 years before he died. Some people say he started the political and economical success of
England. William died on September 9, 1087 at sixty years old, from a fatal riding accident. He was buried at St. Stephen's Church.

Matilda married King Of England William NORMANDY, son of 6th Duke Of Normandy Robert I NORMANDY and Arlotte Herleve DE FALAISE, in 1051. (King Of England William NORMANDY was born on 14 Oct 1024 in Falaise, Calvades, France, died on 10 Sep 1087 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France and was buried in Abbey Of St. Stephen, Caen, Calvados, France.)