For much of English history, the stability of the kingdom has relied upon the reigning monarchs having legitimate heirs in place to succeed them. In the immediate decades following William the Conqueror's successful invasion of England in 1066, the political landscape of the country had been flipped entirely on its head and with the threat of rebellions all over, this stability was needed more than ever. However, in 1120 the sinking of a single ship in the English channel would trigger a succession crisis by claiming the life of the sole male heir to the throne, leading to a civil war lasting 15 years.
On 25th November 1120, the White Ship set sail from France carrying around 300 passengers to England. One of these passengers was the sole legitimate son of King Henry I, and heir to the throne, William Adelin.
Tragedy struck when the White Ship collided with the notorious Quillebœuf rock and sunk off the coast of Normandy, near Barfleur. Adelin was able to make his way into a small boat, and could have survived, but upon hearing the screams of his sister (illegitimate daughter of Henry I, Matilda of Perche), he went back and his boat was quickly swamped. Adelin drowned alongside his sister, and his brother Richard of Lincoln.
The only survivor of this incident was a butcher, who survived by clinging to the rock that had sank the ship (shown below).
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| Quillebœuf rock c.2021 |
The death of William Adelin left King Henry I with no legitimate male heirs, which threw the succession into question.
A distraught Henry went on to marry for a second time with the intention of producing another male heir, but after a string of failed attempts it became clear that this wasn't going to happen. Henry's last option was his only remaining legitimate child, Empress Matilda.
Matilda married the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V, in 1114 but although she was a legitimate child with significant influence, female rights of inheritance were ambiguous at the time and it was clear that it would be difficult for Henry to persuade the nobility to recognise a woman as heir to the throne.
Nevertheless, Henry I began to try and gather support for Matilda. On at least three separate occasions - 1127, 1128 and 1131 - Henry demanded that the nobility swear an oath that they would support Matilda when the time came. Among those who pledged support in 1127 was her first cousin, Stephen of Blois. Stephen had a loose claim to the throne himself, through his mother Adela of Normandy - a daughter of William the Conqueror.
In 1135, sensing that they lacked real support from the nobility, Matilda and her second husband Geoffrey approached the King and suggested that, in order to strengthen their position, he hand over a few castles to them in Normandy while he was still alive. This would have given Matilda time to establish a significant presence in Normandy and perhaps gather more support, placing her in a much stronger position to claim the throne on the death of Henry I. However, possibly out of fear that this would place Geoffrey in a position to seize Normandy himself, the King refused in a rage.
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| Wreck of the White Ship, 2021 - Daily Mail |
By November 1135, Henry I had started showing signs of weakness before passing away on 1st December.
Matilda was not in a very good position to respond once news of the King's death had reached her. She was in Anjou supporting a rebel campaign with Geoffrey, and many of her supporters had taken an oath that they would remain in Normandy until after the King's remains had been buried.
The Earl of Norfolk is said to have testified that Henry I on his deathbed had released the nobility from their oath to Matilda, although it's likely that if this testimony was actually given, it is unreliable.
Stephen of Blois was much closer to London than Matilda when he heard the news of the king's death. Seeing the opportunity before him, he immediately hurried into London in early December and, garnering substantial support along the way, seemingly broke the oath that he hade made to Matilda in 1127 and instead taking the throne for himself. Securing his coronation on December 22nd, Stephen of Blois became Stephen, King of England.
Realising what had happened, a horrified Matilda left Anjou with her forces and marched into Normandy, determined to take back what she believed to be her birth right. Her seizure of a range of key castles in southern Normandy marked the beginning of the civil war known as the Anarchy, that would eventually see Empress Matilda crossing the English channel in an attempt to take the kingdom by force.
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