5 Forgotten Queens of Medieval England

5. MATILDA OF FLANDERS

Matilda of Flanders was the wife and then queen of William The Conqueror. The two married in the early 1050s when William was merely Duke of Normandy. The marriage proved to be successful with Matilda producing 4 sons and potential heirs for William, 3 of whom were born before William became king of England. The youngest of the boys was named Henry who was the only one to be born in England. He would later on, against the odds, become king of England himself, ruling as Henry I. Matilda was well thought of by William and she played a key role in reconciling William with his eldest surviving son (the eldest named Richard had died in a hunting accident) Robert who had gone into open revolt against his father. So serious had the matter become that Robert had even come close to killing William before he lost his nerve or, perhaps putting it more favourably for Robert, his conscience kicked in. William never fully trusted Robert again, despite Matilda's peacemaking efforts, and it would be the third born son William who succeeded the Conqueror as king in 1087. Matilda was married to a difficult man who had a fierce temper. On one occasion, Matilda had evidently upset her husband who forcibly dragged her outside naked. Despite these difficult moments, Matilda performed her duties with dignity and the king greatly mourned her death in 1083.

4. Adeliza of Louvain

Adeliza of Louvain was the second wife of Henry I. She was about 18 years old when she married the English king in 1121 with Henry in his 50s. Henry had needed to marry again and he specifically married a young woman. His first wife, Matilda of Scotland, had died in 1118 and ,just 2 years later, Henry's one legitimate male heir William had died in the White Ship sinking. Henry now only had one legitimate daughter and a whole host of bastard children. He needed a son from his second marriage to succeeded him as king. However, no children from his marriage to Adeliza were forthcoming and Henry, against convention, made his daughter ,Empress Matilda, his heir. Adeliza would marry again after Henry died in 1135. This was to a man named William D'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel and with him, she had seven children. During her marriage to the king, Adeliza had been at Henry's side almost constantly as he desperately sought his heir and she played very little role politically.

3. Matilda of Boulogne

Matilda of Boulogne was married to king Stephen. She was his most important supporter during his troubled reign, a period which became known as The Anarchy. Stephen was fighting desperately to keep hold of the crown out of the clutches of his rival claimant, Empress Matilda, the daughter of Henry I. To help her husband, Matilda of Boulogne brought soldiers over from the continent to bolster Stephen's forces and the queen even played a part militarily as well, laying siege to Dover castle, an effort that proved to be successful. And she even helped to broker peace between Stephen and the bothersome Scottish king David I who had been a problem for some years. Matilda's death in 1152 was a serious blow to Stephen and indeed may even have been the straw that broke the camels' back in the civil war. Stephen's willpower to hold out and eventually pass the throne on to his son was weakening and, eventually, he signed a treaty that would see the son of Empress Matilda, a young man named Henry, become king on Stephen's death instead of Stephen's own son Eustace.

2. Berengaria of Navarre

Known to history as the Queen of England who never set foot in her realm, Berengaria of Navarre was the Queen of Richard The Lionheart. The two were married in Cyprus, an island that had been captured by Richard on his way to the Third Crusade. Berengaria had been collected and then escorted to the wedding by Richard's ageing but still brilliant mother Eleanor of Aquitaine. The marriage however could not exactly be described as romantic with the couple hardly seeing each other and it's questionable whether the marriage was even consummated. Richard's lack of interest in his wife and failure to produce a successor would prove to be a costly decision for England as a country as his dimwitted brother John took the throne on Richard's death in 1199.

1. Eleanor of Castile

Edward I was extremely fond of his wife Eleanor of Castile. However, Eleanor was not as well thought of by the general English population. Eleanor was accused of buying lands that people believed had been extorted from Christian owners by the unpopular and vilified Jewish moneylenders. And so Eleanor's reputation suffered. Her husband was a man capable of real brutality and some accused Eleanor of encouraging this which is wholly unfair on her.  Edward was very much his own man and he must take the responsibility for the good and bad of his reign, of which there was plenty of both. When Eleanor died in 1290, Edward was deeply upset and erected the Eleanor crosses in her memory.