Family of Geoffrey PLANTAGENET and Matilda

Husband: Geoffrey PLANTAGENET (1113-1151)
Wife: Matilda (1102-1167)
Children: Henry II (1133-1189)

Husband: Geoffrey PLANTAGENET

Name: Geoffrey PLANTAGENET
Sex: Male
Name Suffix: Count of Anjou
Father: -
Mother: -
Birth 24 Aug 1113
Death 7 Sep 1151 (age 38)

Wife: Matilda

Name: Matilda
Sex: Female
Name Prefix: Empress
Name Suffix: of England
Father: -
Mother: -
Birth 7 Feb 1102
Death 10 Sep 1167 (age 65)

Child 1: Henry II

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Henry II, Henry_II_of_England

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Spouse: Eleanor of AQUITAINE, Eleanor of aquitaine

Name: Henry II
Sex: Male
Name Prefix: King of England
Name Suffix: Plantagenet
Spouse: Eleanor of AQUITAINE (c. 1123-1204)
Birth 5 Mar 1133
Death 6 Jul 1189 (age 56)

Note on Wife: Matilda

Empress Matilda (c. 7 February 1102 - 10 September 1167), also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood. However, her brother's early death in the White Ship disaster in 1120 resulted in Matilda being her father's sole heir.

 

As a child, Matilda was betrothed to and later married Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, acquiring the title Empress. The couple had no known children and after eleven years of marriage Henry died, leaving Matilda widowed. However, she was then married to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou in a union which her father hoped would produce a male heir and continue the dynasty. She had three sons to Geoffrey of Anjou, the eldest of whom eventually became King Henry II of England. Upon the death of her father in 1135, Matilda was usurped to the throne by her rival and cousin Stephen of Blois, who moved quickly and became crowned King of England whilst Matilda was in Normandy, pregnant with her third child.

 

Their rivalry for the throne led to years of unrest and civil war in England that have been called The Anarchy. Matilda was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of England, though the length of her effective rule was brief - a few months in 1141. She was never crowned and failed to consolidate her rule (legally and politically). For this reason, she is normally excluded from lists of English monarchs, and her rival (and cousin) Stephen of Blois is listed as monarch for the period 1135–1154. She campaigned unstintingly for her oldest son's inheritance, living to see him ascend the throne of England in 1154.