Eustace: The Forgotten Son Of The Anarchy

 King Stephen and the Empress Matilda are, of course, the two main protagonists in the 12th century English civil war that we refer to as The Anarchy. Other key players included Robert of Gloucester, Matilda’s half brother, her second husband, Geoffrey of Anjou and not forgetting Matilda and Geoffrey’s son, the young man who would become King Henry II. However, there is one figure who is often overlooked. In 1153, worn down by years of turmoil, Stephen agreed to make Henry his heir as long as he kept the crown until his death, which came the following year. Henry and Stephen were content with this arrangement. Matilda would have held some frustrations that she was unable to claim the English crown for herself but would have been appeased by the fact her son did become king. However, there was one young man who would have been furious at this arrangement. This was King Stephen’s son, Eustace. The Treaty of Wallingford had ousted him as heir to the throne in favour of Henry and young Eustace was irate at his fathers’ weakness. The treaty, in his eyes, was little more than betrayal.

On becoming king of England, Stephen would also hold the Duchy of Normandy. However, in 1144, he would lose Normandy to Geoffrey of Anjou who passed the Duchy on to Henry in 1149. That same year, Eustace launched a fierce assault on Normandy, taking advantage of the absence of the local barons who were meeting their new duke. In 1151, Geoffrey of Anjou, still only in his late 30s, died suddenly with Henry inheriting the county of Anjou; the young duke was growing steadily more powerful. That power only increased in 1152 with Henry’s stunning marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine who had , until recently, been married to King Louis VII of France. The marriage stunned Louis and undoubtedly, caused some serious resentment for Eustace. In 1137,as Stephen’s heir, he had paid homage for Normandy to Louis VII. Now, not only was Normandy totally out of his grasp, its young Duke was fast becoming one of the most powerful men in Europe who controlled much of France. An alliance between Louis VII and Eustace now seemed inevitable.

Not only did Eustace and Louis share a common foe, they also held a closer, more personal connection. Eustace was married to Louis’ sister, Constance. Soon after Henry’s shock marriage, Eustace and Louis combined to launch an assault on Normandy. They were met with stiff resistance from Duke Henry but Louis did capture a castle named Neufmarche which he handed to Eustace. Meanwhile, in England, Stephen was entertaining the idea of having Eustace crowned. This would be a public demonstration that Eustace was to succeed him on the throne of England and nobody else. 

But Stephen was kidding himself. After Eustace had crossed the channel to join him, Stephen gathered all the key religious figures in England together and proposed that they anoint Eustace as king. Stephen and Eustace were not pleased with the answer they were given. The clergy absolutely point blank refused the request, stating, correctly, that Stephen had unlawfully taken the crown. This point was supported by letters that had been sent to England by Pope Eugene III which made clear, in no uncertain terms, that Eustace was not to be crowned. Stephen, a usually calm man, was absolutely livid. He ordered the bishops present to be locked in until they gave in to his demands but they remained steadfast. Seething, Stephen and Eustace stormed away from the disastrous meeting and laid siege to his enemies’ castle at Newbury which he took before moving on to Wallingford.

It was here that Stephen and Eustace would be finally forced into submission. Duke Henry crossed the channel from Normandy with a small band of men to campaign in England. It was regarded by some as being rash when the size of Henry’s force became known. Henry, in his youth, had launched similar expeditions on behalf of his mother but had been paid off by the king. Stephen must surely now have wished that he had instead taken Henry prisoner. On landing in England in 1153, Henry marched on Malmesbury castle and assaulted it. Stephen and Eustace marched out to meet him but were instead driven back to London by the dreadful weather. Having taken Malmesbury, Henry then went to relieve Wallingford castle, loyal to Henry and Matilda, which still remained besieged by Stephen’s forces,. 

During his short time in England, Henry’s support had grown significantly and Stephen’s will, not strong at the best of times was beginning to break. The king was eventually persuaded to come to terms with Henry and, at Wallingford, the outline of a general agreement was reached which would be made more formal in Westminster, towards the end of 1153. It was clear that Eustace, to the last, still harboured hopes of taking the crown but those hopes were dashed and, after his father had made peace with Henry and made him the heir to the throne, the distraught Eustace, disinherited, stormed away from his father’s camp. Just weeks later, in August 1153, Eustace died. It’s uncertain how he died but given Eustace was only a young man in his early twenties, foul play can’t be ruled out. A supporter of Henry, or perhaps Henry himself, may have recognised that Eustace had the temperament of somebody who would not take defeat lightly and still posed a threat to Henry’s potential succession. However, that is merely speculation. Eustace was buried at Faversham abbey where his father, who was devastated at his son’s sudden death, would join him the following year.