Matilda of Flanders

Matilda of Flanders (1031 - 2 November 1083) was the Queen Consort of England as the wife of William the Conqueror. She was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and Adela of France and the mother of Robert Curthose, William II and Henry I.

Early life
Matilda was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and Adela of France, who was the daughter of King Robert II of France.David C. Douglas, William The Conqueror (Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964), p. 391 Historians think she was born about 1031.David C. Douglas, William The Conqueror (Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964), p. 392 Care was given to her education and so she would become known for her learning as much as for her great beauty.Agnes Strickland, Lives of the Queens of England, Volume I (Philadelphia: G. Barrie & Son, 1902), p. 23 Matilda, like other princesses of her day, was very skilled at fine needlework.

Matilda was well respected because she was a part of a large royal family. She was related to many kings in Europe including Charlemagne. Matilda was a very small woman in size, and some reports said she was only 4 ft 2 in (129.5 cm).Tracy Borman, Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I (New York: Bantam Books, 2011), p. 18

Duchess of Normandy
Matilda married William the Conqueror probably between 1051 and 1052 while she was still a teenager. Ever since he became Duke of Normandy as a boy, William had to fight to keep Normandy. When William was born, his mother and father were not married and so he had the stigma of being a bastard. By marrying Matilda, who was the niece of the King of France, William gained respect in Europe.

When William was getting ready to attack England, Matilda had a ship built for him, called the Mora.Elisabeth van Houts, 'The Ship List of William the Conqueror', Anglo-Norman Studies X; Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1987 (Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 1988), p. 166 While William was in England and after he became King of England in 1066, Matilda stayed behind to rule Normandy while William was away.

Queen of England
A year later, in 1067, Matilda joined her husband in England, and she was crowned Queen of England. It helped William that Matilda was related to an earlier English king, Alfred the Great. It was important to the English people to think that Matilda was herself part English. Matilda died on 3 November 1083, when she was about 52 years old.

Family
Together, Matilda and William had ten children, including:
William II of England
 Adela of Normandy, the mother of Stephen of England
 Henry I of England
Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy after his father's death

 References 

Category:1031 births
Category:1083 deaths
Category:House of Normandy
Category:Kings and Queens consort of England