Five days of a busy program, more than two hundred delegates, including key Belgian ministers, academics and businessmen, and big plans for a series of bilateral agreements - the first state visit of Belgian monarchs in 40 years is in full swing in Canada. The trip of Philippe and Mathilde was supposed to highlight the importance of relations between the two countries, however, despite the obvious enthusiasm of the Belgian delegation, the Canadians, alas, were unable to show due respect to the guests.
We tell you what disappointments Their Majesties had to face on the other side of the Atlantic.
German flag instead of Belgian
Philippe, Mathilde and the rest of the Belgian delegation arrived in Ottawa on March 12, where a busy program awaited them from the very morning. IN last time King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola came here for a visit of this level in 1977. At the same time, the Belgian monarchs had to take part in a traditional ceremony that has been held here since 1906 - to plant a tree in the garden of the Governor General of Canada (formally the representative of the authority of Her Majesty Elizabeth II). Now about 130 maples and oaks grow on the territory of the residence, which symbolizes the unity of nations and peoples friendly to Canada.
Of course, the current rulers of Belgium, Philippe and Mathilde, also had to plant their own tree in the residence of Julie Payette (she has held the position of Governor General since last summer). Especially for this, before the ceremony itself, the organizers of the event decided to “highlight” the tree planted by King Baudouin by tying two crossed miniature flags of Canada and Belgium to it.
But the Belgian flag strangely turned out to be not Belgian at all... but German.
The organizers’ mistake is not difficult to explain: both flags differ from each other only in the location of the yellow, red and black stripes. In the German tricolor they are located horizontally, while in the Belgian they are vertical.
Fortunately, the contractors were able to notice and correct this misunderstanding before Philip and Matilda arrived on site. However, the news reached all local media - and it is naive to believe that this embarrassment never reached the ears of the monarchs.
However, Their Majesties maintained their dignity throughout the next day and later respectfully attended the ceremony marking the centenary of the end of the First World War. During those years, the Canadian army lost about a quarter of its soldiers liberating Belgium.
“We owe our freedom to your soldiers who came to our aid a hundred years ago,” said the king. “We Belgians will never forget this.”
"Demarche" by Justin Trudeau
However, the hiccup with the flags was not the only disappointment of Philip and Matilda during their visit. Over the next two days, the royal couple, as well as the ministers, businessmen and scientists who arrived with them, attended various forums, ceremonies, exhibitions and meetings with Canadian politicians and public figures, among which, however, the most important thing was not - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
To be fair, Trudeau was not obliged to meet with the Belgians: according to protocol, Philip and Mathilde were invited to Canada not by the government, but by the representative of the Queen of Great Britain, Julie Payette (as you know, Elizabeth is formally the head of Canada). Yet, as a senior diplomatic source told The Star, the Belgian delegation was serious about meeting the prime minister and is now “obviously” deeply disappointed.
Justin Trudeau's refusal to meet with representatives of the Belgian authorities is unprecedented in all respects.
So, in 1977, during the visit of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, they were personally met by the then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Justin's father. In 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper welcomed Willem-Alexander and his wife Maxima (monarchs of the Netherlands), and Justin Trudeau himself personally shook hands with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2016, and in 2017 with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Some members of the government have already openly accused their prime minister of lack of manners and “wrong prioritization.” The whole point is that in present moment Justin Trudeau is meeting with the steel industry in full force to curb panic over Donald Trump's abrupt decision to impose tariffs on US steel and aluminum imports. However, some Internet users support the head of government, believing that he is doing the right thing by paying attention to workers instead of “eating caviar and drinking champagne” with a foreign king.
Trudeau himself delegated several government ministers, including the Minister of Trade, to meetings with the Belgians. Bilateral trade between Canada and Belgium has traditionally been important place in the economies of the two countries (last year the turnover amounted to 6.5 billion dollars). Actually, as Belgian media report, it is the strengthening economic relations and it became main goal visit of Philippe, Mathilde and other representatives of Belgium to Canada.
Severe weather conditions
In the homeland of Philip and Matilda, the temperature hardly ever drops to zero, so on the other side of the Atlantic, Their Majesties clearly had to get used to the local harsh spring - to the “minus” outside and relatively high humidity.
However, the weather was kind to the guests, but only at first: on the second day of the visit, the monarchs were caught in a severe snowstorm at the Ottawa airport, for which, apparently, the guests were not prepared. Her Majesty Matilda had to make her way through the snow to the plane in a light coat with an open neck, without gloves and in suede pumps. Despite the fact that the queen definitely had a sheepskin coat, gloves and boots in her wardrobe, on the day when the lady needed warm clothes the most, her stylists chose a completely inappropriate outfit for her.
Philip and Matilda will stay in Canada until Saturday. The royal couple has two more stops ahead - in Toronto and Montreal.
Photo: Getty Images, East News, Legion-Media, Rex
Yesterday in Belgium, King Albert II abdicated the throne in favor of his son Philip. This is the second case in Belgian history of abdication in favor of a son (Leopold III in favor of Baudoin in 1950), and the 79-year-old king made a wise decision. Perhaps the experience of the Dutch queens pushed him to this.
So, a 53-year-old ascended the throne King Philip. His wife, a 40-year-old princess Mathilde became Queen of Belgium. I want to talk about her.
Nowadays the tradition of equal marriages for princes and princesses is practically no longer preserved. The offspring of royal families calmly marry representatives “of the people.” There is nothing wrong with this, of course, but the marriage of the Crown Prince of Belgium was not like that.
His bride, born Mathilde Maria Christina Ghislaine d'Oudekem d'Acoz, whom he married in 1999, is from a high-born family. Her father is the Belgian Count Patrick Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz, her mother is Polish Countess Anna Maria Komorowska, who moved to Belgium as a child. It is on the female line of the young Queen Matilda that I want to dwell in more detail, because it is very interesting.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium
The queen's mother, the now living Countess Anna Maria Komorowska, comes from an old family Polish Counts Komorowski coat of arms of Korczak. This genus comes from Aukštaitija and has been known since the beginning of the 15th century. September 27, 1469 The Hungarian king Matthew granted one of the Komorowski coat of arms of Korczak - Peter on Liptov and Orava - a count's dignity.
The family of counts and nobles of the Komorowski coat of arms of Korczak is included in the genealogical books of the nobles of the Kingdom of Poland, Vilna and Kovno provinces and in the matrix of the nobility of the Courland province.
By the way, the current President of Poland, Count Bronislaw Maria Komorowski, belongs to the same family. 
coat of arms of the Counts of Komorowski
For such a long time and glorious history The Counts of Komorowski became related to many noble families. The ancestors of the Belgian Queen Mathilde on her mother's side, Countess Komorowska (if we consider only 7 generations back in time), are:
Princes Sapieha- a famous noble family in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which, having inherited mid-16th century centuries of ownership of the Olshansky princes, began to enjoy enormous influence. The peak of Sapieha's power came in beginning of XVIII centuries, when they waged internecine wars with the rest of the gentry, which ultimately undermined their strength. In those same years they also acquired the princely title. The Sapiehas were both governors of Vilnius and great hetmans of Lithuania.
Counts Zamoyski- Polish count family, which played an exceptional role in national history and culture. This branch comes from the fourth cousin of Hetman Jan, the Kholmsky castellan, also named Jan. His descendants occupied the most important positions until the partition of Poland. government positions. Among them are known, in particular, the great crown chancellor Andrzej Zamoyski (1716-92), his grandchildren Andrzej Artur (1800-74) and Wladyslaw Zamoyski (1803-68) - prominent figures in the Polish emigration.
Princes Czartoryski - princely family from among the Gediminovichs in Lithuania, then in the Lithuanian-Polish state of the coat of arms of Pahonia Lithuania. They got their surname from the name of the family estate Chartoryisk above the Styr River in Volyn. They descend from Constantine, the son of Coriat or Olgerd, the grandson of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas. This family is closely related to Russian surnames. Suffice it to say that Konstantin’s grandson, Alexander, was married to the daughter of the famous Shemyaki, his daughter to Prince Andrei Mozhaisky, and his granddaughter to the wife of boyar Obraztsov. And then - deeper.
Princes of Sangushki- Volyn princely family from among the Gediminovichs, to mid-18th century centuries, having accumulated in his hands enormous land holdings, including the Ostroh Ordination. From this family came many elders, governors and castellans.
Princes Lubomirski- Polish princely family dating back to the beginning of the 16th century. They come from the town of Lubomierz in Silesia, hence the name. IN late XVI centuries, they became rich in the management of salt mines, for which they were authorized by Stefan Batory, and received from the German emperor first count and then princely titles (second in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after the Radziwills). During the 17th century, the extensive possessions of the Ostrog and Koniecpolskis in the Dniester basin passed to the Lubomirskis through marriage alliances. The family split into several branches, Lancut, Rzeszow and Volyn, and established palaces in Warsaw, Lviv, Dubno and other cities. In the 18th century, the Lyubomirskys began to aim for the Polish throne.
Counts Potulitsky- Polish count family, based on the cabinet rescript of the Prussian king Frederick II dated April 28, 1780, allowing Michael-Bonaventure-Ignatius Potulitsky (1756-1806) to use the title of count.
Counts of Potocki- a noble, later Polish count family, which received its name from the village. Stream near Krakow. The Potocki rose to prominence at the end of the 16th century, when Chancellor Jan Zamoyski began to favor the Potocki brothers for their military abilities; then they were patronized by Sigismund III, especially for their intrigues against their previous patron, Zamoyski; finally, kinship with the Moldavian ruler Jeremiah Mogila made the Pototskys “kings” in Podolia and Ukraine.
Counts of Lubensky- Polish count and noble family. Dating back to the 17th century. Several Lubenskys were bishops, archbishops and governors. The family of counts Lubensky is included in the noble genealogical books of the Kingdom of Poland, and the noble branch is included in the VI part of the genealogical book of the Vilna province.
Now the descendant has such famous families, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, married to King Philip, four children: 
Princess Elizabeth (born 25 October 2001). She is the heir to the throne. Could become the first woman to ascend the throne of Belgium.
Prince Gabriel (born 20 August 2003).
Prince Emmanuel (born October 4, 2005).
Princess Eleanor (born 16 April 2008).
Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Saved
At all times, the sympathies of the people leaned towards the humiliated and insulted. Princess Caroline Matilda, sister of King George III of England, was nicknamed "the unlucky one."
Mad Monarch
Fifteen-year-old Caroline Matilda was married to the ruler of Denmark, Christian, and in 1766 she came to Copenhagen. Christian's stepmother, Juliana, disliked her young daughter-in-law at first sight, as she dreamed of seeing her own son on the throne of Denmark.
Christian was only seventeen, and he did not hesitate to have fun with courtesans. The appearance of his wife did not stop him and this greatly upset Matilda. Soon the royal couple had a son, Crown Prince Friedrich, and Juliana hated the young queen even more.
People around Christian began to notice frequent shifts moods - from riotous fun to black melancholy. He did strange and illogical things. Matilda, hoping for a recovery, invited her husband to travel. Indeed, new impressions and a change of scenery helped him calm down for a while, but very quickly the illness returned and the monarch lost the ability to rule the country.
Matilda - reigning queen
He formally remained king, but Matilda began to rule. And although the queen was smart enough to rule, she urgently needed faithful helpers. Soon the royal physician Friedrich Struensee appeared in her life, becoming Matilda’s favorite and secretary. He persuaded the sick king to sign a decree equating the royal signature with Struensee's signature.
The Queen admired her lover and trusted him in everything. Frederick, taking advantage of his position, dissolved State Council and together with Matilda he ruled the country. Thanks to their wise policy, a confident economic growth. But Juliana could not leave Matilda in power and began to act. Some of the courtiers loyal to the queen tried to warn about the conspiracy, but she did not listen to them, which turned them against her. This happened with Count Friedensburg, who eventually went over to the side of the enemies.
Night coup
In mid-January 1772, after a noisy and magnificent event, she was in the royal palace, when members royal family and the guests went to rest, the conspirators entered King Christian’s bedroom. Juliana told him that the people were outraged and demanded a trial of Matilda and her lover. After intimidating the sick Christian with the possibility of rebellion, she forced him to sign an arrest order.
When the rebels came for the lovers, Struensee offered no resistance, unlike the queen, who fought fearlessly and demanded to see the king.
Thanks to your family ties, Matilda’s life was not in danger. And no matter how much Juliana wanted to, she could not execute the disgraced queen. Matilda's former favorite confessed under torture love affair with her, but without confirmation from the accused herself, he could not be sentenced to death. Then the investigators resorted to deception, promising that Struensee would remain alive if Matilda confirmed their adultery. And the young woman, wanting to save her beloved, gave necessary for the investigation indications.
The former physician was executed, and Matilda’s marriage to King Christian was dissolved, accusing her of treason. Through the efforts of the King of England, the woman managed to leave Denmark and return to Germany, where she was greeted as unfairly accused. The former Queen of Denmark Caroline Matilda died at the age of 23 from scarlet fever in Celle, the Hanoverian possession of her brother George III.
I continue to share with you what I dug up for the book, but never used.
By by and large, mania Henry VIII acquiring an heir is understandable: most civil wars (and not only in England) occurred due to the fact that the next contender for the throne was a) illegitimate, b) not recognized and rejected. Therefore, an exclusively legitimate son was required so that the mosquito would not undermine his nose. And no useless girls! In one of the films of Henry's theme ("Anne of a Thousand Days") this postulate (incorrectly!) is voiced as follows: "Never before has a woman ruled England!"
In fact, there was already one reigning queen in the history of England at that time. And although she was not officially crowned, she still remained in power for nine months. By and large, nothing good came of it, but she wasn’t allowed to rule normally! This historical thriller is much less known than the story of Henry and his wives, but no less interesting. In my book, Queen Matilda should have played quite important role, but in the process it became clear that she had not sewn on the sleeve. I had to remove it. 
Matilda (or, otherwise, Maud) was born in 1102. She was the daughter of King Henry I and his first wife Matilda (Edith) of Scotland. At the age of seven, she was betrothed to Henry V, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, who was 21 years older. A couple of years later, Matilda was sent to be raised by her future husband, but already at the age of 12 she became the full-fledged wife of a 33-year-old uncle. It is officially believed that their marriage was childless, although there is a legend that Matilda did give birth to one child (maybe not from her husband?), who for some reason was given to be raised, and this child was none other than the Catholic saint Thomas Becket ( Thomas of Canterbury). However, there are other, no less strange, legends about the origin of Becket.
In 1125, 23-year-old Matilda was left a widow and returned to England. The only legitimate heir of the loving Henry I, Wilhelm Adeline (Etheling), died during a shipwreck, and Henry decided to declare his daughter heir to the throne - what a scandal! He convened the notables and demanded that they swear allegiance to Matilda - in case he no longer had legitimate sons. The barons, although reluctantly, obeyed, and the oath was confirmed twice more after that. It must be said that Matilda, who spent most of her life in Germany, was not really known at the English court, which is why she had few supporters. But what was much worse was that Matilda had a reputation as a real bitch: she was arrogant, arrogant, power-hungry and despised everyone around her, especially those of lower status. But if I smiled more often, look, everything would have turned out differently!
As one of the conditions for recognizing Matilda's right to the throne, peerage demanded mandatory agreement with the aristocratic public on the candidacy of the heiress's future husband. And here we need to make one digression. Unscrupulous writers and screenwriters created a myth that in the Middle Ages girls and married women They had absolutely no rights, but widows could do whatever their hearts desired. But alas, this was not the case. More precisely, not quite like that. Low-class widows really managed themselves as they wanted: they married according to their taste, managed the household, and even ran the business of their late husbands. But the widows (and orphans) of titled persons became, paradoxically as it may sound, the property of the Crown. The royal chancery had a Register of Rich Widows and Orphaned Heiresses - a register of rich widows and orphan heiresses. Orphans (with the approval of the king) were placed under the guardianship of wealthy relatives (who, of course, received income from their property until the girls were married off - however, the guardians themselves often married them). Widows had two duties: to appear periodically at court and to marry by order of the king (unless, of course, they could present convincing reasons why they could not do so). If the widow wanted to marry according to her choice, the king still had to approve it. Formally, a widow could pay a fee to the treasury and buy the right not to marry at all (except for entering a monastery), but this was too expensive and therefore almost never practiced.
So, the choice of a new husband for Matilda had to be approved by the aristocracy. However, Henry I carried out this matter secretly, organizing the betrothal of his daughter to Geoffrey (Gottfried) V of Anjou (aka Handsome, aka Plantagenet), the son of Count Fulk V of Anjou (future King of Jerusalem). The king needed this marriage to normalize the troubled situation in Normandy. Dissatisfaction with the engagement was universal and very loud, but in 1128 the wedding still took place. Matilda was 11 years older than her husband, and Geoffroy, according to chroniclers, was a rather spoiled teenager with the same shitty character as his wife. Their relationship did not work out, they constantly quarreled and even fought, until Geoffroy sent his wife from Anjou to Normandy with all her property.
Two years later, either Geoffroy had grown up and wiser, or Matilda had calmed down, one way or another, the couple began to live together and successfully raised three sons. In 1135, Henry I died. Taking advantage of the fact that the heir to the throne (her eldest son was only two years old at that time - he was not fit to be a king) was overseas, Henry's nephew, grandson of William the Conqueror, Stephen of Blois, claimed his rights to the English throne. aka Etienne de Blois, but this name is not usually used so as not to be confused with his father of the same name). There’s nothing, he said, for a woman to do on the throne, it’s nothing but disgrace. As a formal substantiation of his claims, Stefan stated that Matilda was illegitimate, since her mother was raised in a monastery before her marriage, and therefore had no right to get married at all (although she did not take monastic vows, and the Council of the English clergy gave permission for her marriage with Heinrich). Another formal reason was that the nobles did not consent to the marriage of Matilda and Geoffroy, which means that the oath they took was declared non-shield.
Matilda at that time was pregnant with her third son and was unable to quickly respond to her cousin’s usurpation of the throne. London, which hated the heiress, greeted Stephen with delight, and in December 1135 he was crowned. At first, all the more or less significant barons of England and Normandy, and even Matilda’s half-brother, Henry’s natural son, the Earl of Gloucester, swore allegiance to him. However, Matilda was not going to give up. While she was carrying and giving birth to a child, Geoffroy gathered troops and captured several strategically important fortresses in Normandy. Having handed over the baby to the nannies, Matilda joined her husband, and the capture of Normandy continued with redoubled force. When Stephen arrived in Normandy with his troops, Anjou's position was shaken, but in 1139 he was forced to return to England, where a full-scale civil war began. By 1144, Geoffrey had captured most of Normandy and proclaimed himself duke of it.
While her husband was busy with Normandy, Matilda dealt with the offender personally. Back in 1138, she turned to the Pope with a demand to recognize Stephen's coronation as illegal. The matter was considered at the Second Lateran Council in 1139 and ended in an offensive defeat for Matilda. However, Stefan, whom everyone was so happy at first, acted extremely stupidly and very soon alienated even his most loyal supporters, including the Earl of Gloucester and own brother. The completely raider seizure of the property of the Bishop of Salisbury turned the clergy against Stephen. The Scots, who attacked the north of England, and Wales, where an uprising broke out, joined the general fray. With much fanfare, Matilda landed with an army on the coast of Sussex (note: she did not give orders from the castle trench, but acted at the head of the army!), and her brother Gloucester captured Bristol. At first they suffered a number of failures, but within a year almost the entire Western and southwestern part countries and a number of central counties were under their control, and the king of Scotland, who came out in support of Matilda, captured a fair part Northern England.
At the beginning of 1141, Matilda captured her enemy and moved to Winchester, where she took possession of the royal treasury. On April 8, she was officially proclaimed Queen of England and took the title "Lady of the English" (Domina Anglorum - Lady of the English), as they were usually called English monarchs before the coronation. After this she marched on London, which surrendered in June. However, things didn’t work out for Matilda in London. Mostly Stephen's supporters lived there, who organized their own wild army. When the queen tried to impose a land tax on the Londoners, they rebelled and drove Matilda out of the city with arms in their hands. At the same time, another army of Stephen’s supporters approached London, led by (don’t laugh!) another Matilda - his wife Matilda of Boulogne.
Well, what can you do, these are the warlike Matildas who were in the 12th century! This Matilda was more cunning and through bribery attracted many of Matilda No. 1’s associates to her side, including the Bishop of Winchester.
Offended by the latter's betrayal, Matilda No. 1 returned with an army to Winchester and besieged the bishop's palace. The army of Matilda No. 2 (of Boulogne), which was significantly superior in strength to the rival troops, rushed in pursuit. A fierce fight ensued between the women's armies, which ended in the disastrous defeat and flight of Matilda's army No. 1. The queen herself was saved with the help of her faithful servant Brian Fitz-Count (oh, you can write a separate novel about him, by the way, his wife was also called Matilda, but he was in love - completely platonically, of course, to the queen) and rushed to Brother Gloucester for help. However, bad luck - it turned out that he was also captured. After much deliberation, Matilda No. 1 exchanged the captive Stefan for her brother.
Meanwhile, the fickle public swung again towards Stefan. Firstly, in political and economic terms, Matilda showed herself to be an even greater fool, alienating even those who at one time defected to her from Stefan. Secondly, the beau monde considered Stephen a poor thing: his comrades spread rumors that Matilda kept him in chains at Bristol Castle. In December 1141, the English synod again recognized Stephen as king, and Matilda's supporters were threatened with excommunication. But that was not all!
Matilda refused to admit defeat, and most England was still under her control. While she was gathering strength for a new breakthrough, Stefan unexpectedly went on the offensive and, with a powerful attack, captured strategically important objects, cutting off her connection with Normandy. In the autumn of 1142, Stephen's troops broke into Oxford, where Matilda was, and set the city on fire. Three months already former queen held the defense against many times superior forces Stephen, fortifying himself in Oxford Castle. When food ran out and no help arrived from Normandy, one day winter night Matilda, dressed in white, climbed down a rope from the castle wall and escaped along the ice of the Thames with three companions to Wallingford, which was under the control of the Fitz Count. And at that time she was already forty years old - an old woman at that time!
But even then Matilda did not give up. No more than a dozen counties remained under her control, and the number of supporters was steadily declining (even her beloved nephew, the son of Gloucester, betrayed her), but she was not going to give up the fight. And yet Stefan gradually squeezed more and more land from her. In 1147, Matilda suffered a heavy blow - Robert of Gloucester, her beloved brother, faithful comrade-in-arms and leader of her party in England, died. To support his mother in the hopeless struggle for the English throne, Henry Plantagenet, the eldest son of Matilda and Geoffrey, who was only 14 years old, landed in Northern England with a small detachment (Gaidar is crying bitterly under a bush!). Of course, nothing was going to happen to the guy, but he fought with such courage that he earned the admiration of his cousin Stephen, who did not take Henry prisoner, but, on the contrary, paid all the expenses for his return to Normandy. IN next year Matilda finally admitted defeat and, together with Fitz-Count, returned to the continent (according to other versions, Fitz-Count went to Jerusalem, where he died, or became a monk. By the way, for all his devotion, he did not even receive a pathetic title from Matilda, and remained a simple knight).
Well, then everything is boring. After returning, Matilda's relationship with her husband went wrong again, and she retired to Rouen, where she maintained her own court. The restless Henry made another attempt to fight his uncle, this time in alliance with the Scottish king and several English supporters of Matilda. They even managed to capture a few important objects, but Stephen soon gained the upper hand, and Henry returned home. In 1153 Geoffrey died, Henry became sole ruler Anjou, Touraine and Maine, as well as the Duke of Normandy. As soon as he renounced his claims to England, Stefan, who was almost annoyed twenty years war, and most of all finished off by the death of his beloved son, he himself proposed to Henry to conclude an agreement according to which he was recognized as the heir to the English throne. A year later, Stephen died and Henry II Plantagenet became king of England. Matilda remained in Normandy, but at the same time - like a real imperious mother - she constantly interfered from across the sea in both the family and state affairs of her son-king. She died at the age of 65 in 1167.
Matilda of England called herself Empress and Queen of England, although she was neither one nor the other. She spent half her life in the war and understood military affairs as well as any man, but she remained with broken trough. All her life she was surrounded by Henrys, but the cause of her troubles was her namesake. About the woman who untied the first civil war in British history.
Family matters
Matilda was born into, without a doubt, a “friendly” family. It just so happened that the heirs of William the Conqueror did nothing but share what their father and grandfather had conquered, so Matilda simply continued the family tradition. However, the main culprit of all these political squabbles was none other than Wilhelm himself.
In short, the situation was like this: after the death of the Conqueror in 1087, his possessions were divided into two parts. William had a very bad relationship with his eldest son Robert, and wanted to exclude him from among his heirs altogether, but the Norman feudal lords stood up as a wall and did not allow this to happen. As a result, Robert received Normandy, but the second son of William the Conqueror, also William, became king of England. To say that Robert was offended is an understatement.
However, it was the angry Duke who let off all his warlike steam in Crusade, to which he went ten years after his father's death. Robert never achieved his goal in England, and bad relationship and his brother did not prevent him from borrowing money from him as security for Normandy.
After the Duke departed for the Holy Land, William sighed calmly, but not for long. The king, nicknamed Red, died in a very strange circumstances in the New Forest during a hunt. By official version, the knight Walter Tyrrell accompanying him, aiming at a deer, hit William with an arrow.
Henry I - Matilda's father
But there are several important issues, which remained unanswered. Why did Tyrrell, who was aiming for a deer, shoot two arrows into his king at once? Why, instead of helping his dying sovereign, Tyrrell rushed towards the English Channel and within three weeks found himself in France? Why younger brother William the Red Henry, not knowing anything about what happened to his brother, took the court back to London, and the next day declared himself king? Finally, why did Heinrich, who two weeks later received the remains of his brother, heavily gnawed by wolves, not begin to conduct any investigation? It was around 1100.
Robert of Normandy, having learned about the death of William, rushed back from the Holy Land, hoping to return the English crown, but was very quickly defeated by his brother Henry and put into custody. He spent the rest of his days in prison, and Henry, nicknamed Beauclerc for his education (he apparently had beautiful handwriting), began to rule England, and reigned for almost 35 years. At this time, the country forgot about the wars for the throne, but they returned after the death of the king.
The fact is that Henry's only son, Wilhelm Adelin, died in a shipwreck in the waters of the English Channel. After this, the king was left with only two options for choosing heirs. He could have passed the throne to his daughter Matilda or his nephew Stephen of Blois. Henry chose his daughter and even forced the English feudal lords to swear allegiance to her. But it was easier said than done.
Change coin
No matter how sad it may sound in the 21st century, in the Middle Ages princesses were, for the most part, bargaining chips in big-time politics. Matilda's father found the match brilliant in every sense.
She was married to the German Emperor Henry V. From a political point of view, the choice was correct, and this union soon justified itself, but of course, no one asked Maud’s consent (as the princess was called by her father and uncle, King David I of Scotland).
Her wedding took place in 1114. Matilda was 12, her husband 31. At this point she left England and returned to it only 11 years later. The marriage with Henry was neither unhappy nor happy. Matilda failed to bear children to the emperor, so after his death, she was sent to her father without any rights to the possessions of her late husband. Nevertheless, Maud began to call herself empress. It was arrogance in its purest form.
The fact is that no one crowned her with this title, although she later convinced the English nobility that the Pope had performed this rite on her. And in general, the real problems awaited Matilda not in the empire, but in London.
Firstly, it turned out that the English and Norman feudal lords were not eager to see a woman on the throne. Secondly, Matilda simply had no supporters among influential nobles or clergy. Thirdly, she herself greatly ruined her reputation with her bad character.
So, the arrogant princess quarreled with William of Ypres and Galeran de Beaumont, which would come back to haunt her later. Finally, there was a fourth difficulty. Heinrich decided to remarry his daughter, but found her a less successful husband. Matilda became the wife of Geoffrey of Anjou, nicknamed Plantagenet.
Henry V - Matilda's husband
England sought an alliance with the House of Angevin, but the Norman barons were not happy with this, because they for many years waged war with the Angevins. In 1127, Matilda, who had stayed in England for only a short time, was sent to a new husband. The picture was repeated exactly the opposite. Maude was 25, her husband was 13. And although Matilda would later give birth to Geoffroy three sons, their relationship did not work out at first. Young Geoffroy sent his wife to Normandy out of sight.
War of the Two Matildas
Henry I died in 1135 while visiting Matilda. There he literally nursed his grandson, also Henry. This boy will soon go down in history under the name of Henry Plantagenet, but this is not about him now. Matilda began to get ready to go to London for the coronation, but Stephen of Blois beat her to it.
While the Empress was summoning her retinue and fitting out the ship, her cousin arrived in London, made an agreement with the clergy and nobility, and was crowned. Among other things, Matilda's brother Robert of Gloucester, Henry's bastard, who could not have rights to the throne, but was the most influential and authoritative knight of England, took his side.
Stefan found an excellent reason to renounce the oath that he had given to his cousin at one time. He declared Matilda illegitimate, citing the fact that her mother, before her marriage to Henry, lived briefly in a monastery and managed to take a vow of celibacy. Whether such a thing actually happened is no longer important, but such a story was quite suitable for Stefan as an excuse. Matilda was left with nothing, but did not give up.
First of all, she sued her cousin. The Empress demanded that the proceedings be conducted personally by the Pope. The Pope saw him through, but the Vatican came to the conclusion that Stephen ruled England legally, and then Matilda went over to decisive action, starting a war against his cousin. Fortunately, Geoffroy’s husband had already grown up and matured, and most importantly, he had long dreamed of snatching a piece of Normandy for his own benefit.
The civil war lasted 20 years. Matilda personally commanded one of the Angevin armies. She captured the fortresses of Se and Domfront, led her army out of encirclement at the Tapa marshes, was defeated by William of Ypres and almost captured, united with her husband’s army and again recaptured the lost castles. Stephen, apparently believing that Matilda was not dangerous, recalled Ypres to England. The fact is that by that time some of the feudal lords had managed to rebel against him. Maud took advantage of this. Leaving her husband to deal with Normandy, she set off with the army across the English Channel. And then she began to frankly get lucky.
Stefan finally quarreled with the barons and they, one after another, began to go over to Matilda’s side. Brother-bastrad Robert also defected, and with him the Bishop of Winchester. It was very important point, for this rank was held by Stephen's brother Henry. In the latter stages of the war, two more important events occurred.
At first, Matilda was supported by her uncle David of Scotland, who had previously refused to help his niece three times. He invaded England from the north and captured York. Apparently, since the time of David’s invasion, a law has been in force in this city, according to which any city dweller can kill a Scot with impunity if he is armed with a bow and arrow.
And then there was February 2 and the Battle of Lincoln, where Matilda, showing leadership talent, defeated Stephen and captured him. The cousin was thrown into Bristol Castle and kept there chained, but then things began to go wrong for the king.
More precisely, he was lucky much earlier in 1125, when he married a virtuous and courageous woman, who was also named Matilda. She did not have magnificent titles, she was only the Countess of Boulogne, and she was a queen only by her husband. And Matilda did not abandon this husband in trouble; she gathered an army from the remnants of people loyal to Stephen and marched on London in a desperate attempt to regain what was lost.
The other Matilda, meanwhile, solemnly entered the capital, where Stephen's brother Henry declared her queen. But the matter again did not come to the coronation. Matilda really wanted to throw a grand ceremony and desperately needed money. But there was no money. Moreover, there was not even an opportunity to get them. Almost all the lands were distributed to feudal lords who supported the queen.
And then Matilda decided to impose tribute on the Londoners, at the same time depriving them of some of their privileges. The answer was a swift and merciless rebellion, which, in a rather rare case, ended in success.
The fact is that Robert Gloucester was besieging some castle at that moment, and while Matilda was gathering troops celebrating her success, her namesake approached the walls of London. The battle of the two Matildas was won by the one who was Stefan's wife.
Matilda, who was Stefan's cousin, had to drop everything and run away. And since she soon lost two more battles, her authority fell. And then the loyal English feudal lords, one after another, began to go over to the side of that Matilda, who was now winning. Uncle David also acted wisely and returned to Scotland.
Only Robert Gloucester remained on Maude's side. However, his army, going to help his sister, was intercepted and defeated. The bastard was captured. Matilda was forced to exchange her brother for Stefan. On last stage During the war, Matilda was driven back to the sea, taking one castle after another from her. She managed to gain a foothold in Oxford and stay there for almost six months, but then famine began.
The soldiers were ready to tolerate him, but Maude was not. She secretly fled Oxford, apparently hoping that her absence would not be noticed. But he was noticed within a few hours, after which Baron de Brazon, who had been so devoted to her, clear conscience surrendered the castle and even personally sent in pursuit of the fugitive.
Final
Matilda remained queen for eight months. From April to December 1141. And although the end date of the war is 1154, but from 1147 fighting were no longer carried out. Matilda sat in Normandy and looked with longing at lost England on the other side of the English Channel. Stephen ruled London peacefully, hoping that Matilda would not return.
However, the king's eldest son Eustachius died unexpectedly in 1153, leaving the question of succession to the throne open. Stefan was forced to make peace with Matilda. His conditions were simple. Stephen reigns until his death, and his son Maud Henry is declared his heir.
And so it turned out that Maud’s war was not entirely in vain. True, her relationship with her son then completely deteriorated. Henry did not take his mother to the coronation, and when she came to him in England, he almost by force sent her back to Rouen. Apparently, Plantagenet was afraid that his mother would interfere in state affairs.
Matilda died in 1167, already an old woman by medieval standards. 65 years for the 12th century is real longevity. She was buried in the Benedictine Abbey of Bec near Rouen. Henry was late for the funeral.
The tombstone inscription on the slab reads: “Here lies the daughter, wife and mother of Henry. Great by birth, even greater by marriage, but most of all by motherhood.”
