The FIRST Queen Of England - Empress Matilda

The first Queen of England - Empress Matilda
Arguably, the first queen of England can be named as empress Matilda. She was the sole legitimate child of king Henry I of England after the death of his son, prince William, in the white ship disaster. Matilda was born on the 7th of February 1114, potentially in either Winchester or Sutton Courtenay, England. The death of her brother left the realm in a potential succession crisis but as her father had no further children, he made Matilda his heir and made his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors. But this decision was not a popular one, nor was it whole supported in the Anglo-Norman court.
Join us today as we look into the life of Matilda, and the barriers she needed to hurdle in order to survive and thrive.

[@dhritidutta6231]

Fun Fact: Series House of Dragon is based on Matilda's story...

[@connoisseur1595]

Not exactly based but yeah the book Fire and Blood by Grr Martin was inspired from this Matilda's story.

[@Coco_Loco95]

@@connoisseur1595Fire & Blood is a Targaryen history book. Only the story about the dance was inspired by The Anarchy. It’s a good read.

[@jturtle5318]

I read the Song of Ice and Fire series while I started doing the family tree, and the book is basically my family history plus dragons. And White Walkers, but they're kind of Norse.

[@lisathriftingqueen6804]

I heard that Rhaenrya was based off of her

[@STRC6RT]

Iam replying really late but i wouldnt say based maybe inspired?

[@lindacoolbaugh962]

It was cool to finally see other drawings of Matilda instead of just the one where she looks like a playing card. Good Video!!

[@teachasse6114]

Matilda was strong willed and politically astute player. She reminds me of Margaret Beaufort, both devoted mothers to future Kings and founders of the two most remarkable British dynasties, the Plantagenets and the Tudors

[@jeandehuit5385]

Well, she was certainly smarter than some of her enemies gave her credit for, & there were a lot of 'whoopsie' misfortunes that are just really bad luck (I mean, did her dad *have* to die while she was pregnant in Normandy?) Her marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou was certainly a bone of contention; she didn't want to marry him, & nobody in England (or Normandy for that matter) liked Geoffrey that much nor enjoyed the prospect of him being king (husbands of queens in this period often became king jure-uxoris; Geoffrey's father became King of Jerusalem this way). But, at the same time, he's also the best 'replacement' for William Adelin's consort Sibylla (who had been Geoffrey's sister). The marriage shored up Normandy's border with Anjou & more importantly, William & Sibylla (& by proxy Geoffrey & Matilda) were known *not* related in the prohibited degrees, so the marriage didn't require a lengthy papal dispensation. However, just b/c Matilda occasionally had bad luck doesn't mean she was a great ruler. For a time there everything was going her way; Stephen had been captured, Stephen's brother had thrown his support behind her, & she actually held London. But in a *very* short period of time she manages to alienate almost all of her allies in no large part due to her personality (which was admittedly still only partially her fault; she'd been raised in Emperor Henry V's court & thus learned the German methods of governance, not the Anglo-Norman ones of her father). If she had been a more able politician, known when to compromise and when not to, then I think she would have been more successful, in spite of the challenges she faced being a woman in a kingdom that absolutely didn't want women.

[@teachasse6114]

@@jeandehuit5385 No room for compromises in those brutal times when your throne was at stake with fractions conspiring right and left to overthrow you . So I don’t blame her for being a tough ruler. They were all ruthless back then, still are. Politics and power play are not for feeble weaklings and the faint of heart. Show a nicety or a weakness and you were a dead King or Queen walking,simple as that

[@jeandehuit5385]

@@teachasse6114 Part of being a Medieval king is rewarding your followers. Followed by military service and solid administration skills. I don't think Matilda gave people the chance to become confident in her abilities in these areas--she just assumed they'd listen to her b/c of her ancestry. But the English & Norman nobility required a careful hand. Many of them weren't willing to respect anyone who hadn't earned it, in their eyes. Stephen didn't have their respect either, mind you. But he was male, someone who'd been embroiled Anglo-Norman politics for decades, was affable, & seen as unlikely to rock the boat. A puppet, mainly. The fact he couldn't command respect didn't matter, b/c he never asked for it. I'm not saying Matilda *wasn't* capable in these areas, mind you, merely that she expected too much acquiescence too soon. IMO Treating her like she didn't have flaws would be doing her a disservice *as* a woman, b/c she was every bit as capable, responsible & occasionally stupid as the male noblemen of her age were, even if that wasn't always acknowledged.

[@katjack2780]

@@jeandehuit5385 Yes! I'm getting a little tired of the "She-Wolves" approach that seems to be applied lately to women in history, where any flaws or mistakes are ignored or brushed aside. You can't impose a 21st-century sensibility onto people of the past.

[@sc6658]

Matilda is an underrated figure in English history. I still consider her England’s first queen regnant, I don’t care. If someone asks me who England’s first queen regnant was then there are two answers I accept: Empress Matilda or Mary I. Because if you count one disputed queen, count them all.

[@gidge9846]

Shouldn't you count Jane Grey as well?

[@sc6658]

@@gidge9846 I either count all disputed monarchs or none of them, and Jane is disputed. Therefore she isn’t first either way.

[@Z0MBiiK1TTY]

@@gidge9846 Are you related to Jane Grey?

[@gidge9846]

@@Z0MBiiK1TTY no unfortunately. At least, not that I've been able to find out but I can't get back very far in the records

[@Z0MBiiK1TTY]

@@gidge9846 oh okay

[@Chipoo88]

Mary I remains the first crowned Queen of England, who paved the way for subsequent Queen Regnants, by also changing aspects of the coronation and constitution to ensure Queens had the same rights and powers as Kings

[@krisztinaszabo24]

Lady Jane Gray I believe was the first Queen of England even though it was for only 9 days.

[@Chipoo88]

@@krisztinaszabo24 she did not have the same rights as Mary since it was Mary who pushed to parliament the laws that would allow a female monarch the rights and powers equivalent to those of a king. Mart was also the rightful heir and wanted by the people. Jane never reigned

[@aprilgosa5779]

@@krisztinaszabo24 Jane was a pawn

[@leticiagarcia9025]

Can you do a video of Philippa of Lancaster? Daughter of John of Gaunt and Queen consort of king John I of Portugal. Thanks. Love all of your videos.

[@kristinshirley6249]

My new favorite channel for history!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@karenleigh3328]

Same! Love it!! ❤️🥰❤️

[@kunoichihawaii146]

This Lady was a Badass

[@NoneNone-hc1yj]

What a lovely video. Thank you.

[@heathermason9311]

Great content!

[@annfisher3316]

Never refuse to go away quietly... 💪

[@warp9p659]

In my view, Matilda was definitely the first lawful female sovereign of England. Her father, Henry I, nominated her as his heir and successor, and the barons and nobles of the realm gave their support and blessing to it. Upon Henry's death, Stephen was in England and usurped the crown from Matilda, who was on the continent. Many of the nobility switched their support to Stephen, while others remained loyal to Matilda, who controlled English possessions in France. Civil war eventually resulted, and Stephen's authority within England began to wane. Matilda and her army finally landed in England. After defeating and capturing Stephen in the Battle of Lincoln In 1141, Matilda was proclaimed "Lady of the English" after the Clergy declared that she should be the monarch, but a coronation for her never took place. This begs the question as to why she took the title of "Lady of the English" rather than Queen of England. The word Queen was derived from the Saxon word "Cwen", which meant woman or wife. In this period in England, the word Queen was used to denote the consort and wife of the King. The word had no express or implied meaning of a woman holding sovereign authority in her own right. The word "Lady" on the other hand was the title given to all high ranking women in the realm, including daughters of the King. It is likely that Matilda chose the title of "Lady" because it denoted a female who could hold a title in her own right (suo jure), such as a peeress. The mere fact that the sovereign has not been crowned does not in and of itself diminish the authority or prerogatives of the sovereign. There are even modern examples of sovereigns who ascended the throne but were never crowned. An example would be Edward VIII, never crowned but no less the King from the date of his ascension.

[@marcusalford1750]

Hello 👋 i'm a new subscriber i'm also a history fanatic,From what i've watched sofar is amazing. It's very intersting seeing history from a different angle. Keep up the great work,well done 👏👏👏

[@jamesaron1967]

Fascinating person. Would be nice to know what was in that lost biography to shed some further light into her life.

[@kimmcroberts5111]

Tks!

[@elizabethspedding1975]

Very interesting lady.💗

[@walkerhjk]

Sharon Penman has 'fleshed out' this history in her novel 'When Christ And His Saints Slept' in which the Empress is called by her other name, Maude, to distinguish her from King Stephen's wife, also named Matilda.

[@sarah3796]

Ooohh sounds good

[@TomHanksAndTeaCups]

Her mother was also named Matilda. Haha. There were so many of them!

[@exnedu1738]

Just found your channel and LOVE it! Can I ask what editing software you use?

[@bihottie26]

I see a lot of parallels between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matilda. sorry Game of thrones nerd here.

[@freddiemckellar7586]

Thats why I came here as well!

[@cattheender9403]

Rhaenyra was based off of her story

[@johnkladis4266]

Love your work!!

[@denisestevens2540]

She was a bad ass Granddaughter of William The Conqueror and Rollo and Poppa if Normandy. Mother of King Henry II. ❤

[@countessofalava6532]

Can you do a video about King Don Pelayo? He was the first king of Asturias and an ancestor of mine, I wanna learn about him, thank you 🙏

[@TXRBL]

Have you done a video of Saint Margaret of Scotland?

[@notsharingwithyoutube]

She is my Nth great grandmother. 🙂

[@xime8645]

Please, could you do the biography of "Marie the Guise"? 👀❤️

[@leanie5234]

Such a misogynistic history the world has ! Matilda was considered to be "too arrogant and proud" to be a popular monarch. Ha ha.....every king known to England could have been described in the same way, except that in a WOMAN, these traits were unacceptable. When I became a senior manager, my subordordinates began describing me (privately) as a "bitch". Male managers were "tough" or "strong". Sigh...things have not changed so very much

[@edtillett8245]

Your point is well-taken, Leanie - when male bosses make firm decisions, they are said to be 'decisive', but when women do same, they are 'ruthless'. But have you considered that maybe you WERE actually a 'bitch', just as male bosses can be total jerks and tools? Bad bosses aren't gender-specific. I've had experience of both - unfortunately, in the former case, the women concerned seemed desperate to emulate men, but used bad male bosses as their cookie-cutter leadership templates. This led to them over-compensating for being women, instead of being authentically themselves, which tends to undermine the idea of good leadership, irrespective of gender.

[@Z0MBiiK1TTY]

Right

[@sylvur1977]

My Great times 27 Grandmother

[@offwiththefairiesforever2373]

She seems really quite lovely to me x

[@eamonhayter6553]

Did you change your channel name today?

[@ElizabethStone-TolcherJames]

forever the first queen to me

[@the_internet_332]

my ancestor

[@dianetheisen8664]

Despite her attitude, she was a remarkable woman.

[@leanie5234]

A woman before her time.

[@Z0MBiiK1TTY]

It's her attitude that made her remarkable

[@emilymayer5500]

The English sure have a propensity of disrespecting the final resting places of its monarchy. How many remains of kings/queens and other members of royalty were violated, lost, destroyed then refound and reburied?

[@dianetheisen8664]

Richard III, among them.

[@jamesaron1967]

Many, it seems to be a recurring theme. Although some monarchs I couldn't care less for, everyone has a place in history and historical monuments should never be violated for any reason. It's comparable to what communists do as a form of historical revisionism to indoctrinate the people with a new way of thinking by making them ignorant of their past. Essentially a blank slate, so they may not derive any inspiration or draw conclusions from people and events of the past.

[@loislewis5229]

@@jamesaron1967 👏👏👏

[@clrobertson13]

You called her a member of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy. She was Norman.

[@loislewis5229]

Yes, Matilda was from the house of Normandy, but she was also Anglo-Saxon through her mother, Margaret of Wessex who descended from Alfred the Great.

[@SuburbanSavage]

And now she's Tilda Swinton

[@katesims2346]

Ellis Peters writes about her in her Cadfael series of fiction historical whodunnits. Matilda is not represented in a positive light.

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## LERAN MORE ##

[@CathyAutisticCounselling]

What can you find out about mathilde the wife of William the conqueror?

[@loislewis5229]

Yes please. When I first saw the title, I thought it was on William the conqueror’s wife. 😜

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## HELATH MOATH ##

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## TIS FOR SAVTE ##

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## NOTE ##

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## HER HOSTRE ##

[@hamsterlee5244]

It said Mary 1 was

[@VV-nz4dv]

house of the dragon

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## DESTEAR ##

[@sarah3796]

I do wonder if she was seen as arrogant when I’m sure if she was a man they would call her strong

[@theworth123]

She was strong for sure she had kids and brought them up, got to be a strong woman to do that..

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## TIS FOR YO ##

[@TrottierCole]

She was born in 1102 not 1114? She got married in 1114 to the HRE

[@Z0MBiiK1TTY]

You look like you could be my brother lol

[@user-tn2wl6el7o]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤amenamen❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😂😂😂😮😮😂😢😢

[@mothermovementa]

She was coronated too

[@carolinejohnson22]

Don't you mean crowned? All the Matildas were direct descendants of Alfred the Great. Henry I daughter Matilda was born a princess, and married an Emperor and therefore an Empress. Since she was ousted by Stephen, her son Henry ii came back with an army to take his crown. He was also known as Fitzempress.... Eleanor of Aquitaine should be high on the list 🌟

[@jasyillnel4402]

Wait so Matilda son became king because he a boy! 🤨

[@elizabethchadwick9808]

Born in 1114? Should that not be 1102? Look at 28 seconds.

[@leanie5234]

You are correct. It seems that she married the Holy Roman Emperor in 1114.

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## HE ##

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## DEASTER ##

[@annagarza8549]

great video except for the old arrogant thing. men wrote the histories, mostly clerics, and there's a sexist slant to so much of what we were all fed in class.

[@melieflynn-hayes7996]

SHe may not have been queen but that's to her the plantagenet began with her son.

[@williamdeypres1122]

She was never an official queen of England. An arrogant, unpleasant woman by all accounts. If anyone deserves their story told, it's King Stephen's wife, also called Matilda, who led his army and won his release from imprisonment.

[@dwightschrute900]

Catholic Queen of England

[@leanie5234]

They were ALL catholic back then. Protestantism was not a thing until the 1520s.

[@dwightschrute900]

​@@leanie5234 Yes, Oh My Love, the Old England

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## LERAN MORE ##

[@hassanalghdli9754]

## HE ##

[@hassanalghdli9754]

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[@hassanalghdli9754]

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[@hassanalghdli9754]

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[@hassanalghdli9754]

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