Matilda of Flanders

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Matilda of Flanders (c. 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen consort of the Kingdom of England and the wife of William the Conqueror.

She was the daughter of count Baldwin V of Flanders, and Adèle (1000-1078/9), daughter of Robert II of France.

Accustomed to speaking her mind and getting her way, the 4'2"-tall (Britain's smallest queen^{[citation needed]}) Matilda (or "Maud") told the representative of William, Duke of Normandy (later king of England as William the Conqueror), who had come asking for her hand, that she was far too high-born (being descended from King Alfred the Great of England) to consider marrying a bastard. When that was repeated to him, William, all of 5'10", rode from Normandy to Bruges, found Matilda on her way to church, dragged her off her horse (some said by her long braids), threw her down in the street in front of her flabbergasted attendants, and then rode off. Another version states that William rode to Matilda's father's house in Lille, threw her to the ground in her room (again, by the braids), and hit her (or violently shook her) before leaving. Naturally Baldwin took offense to this but before they drew swords, Matilda settled the matter. ^[1] Regardless of the story, she decided to marry him, and even a papal ban (on the grounds of consanguinity) did not dissuade her. They were married in 1053.

There were rumours that Matilda had been in love with the English ambassador to Flanders, a Saxon so pale he was nearly an albino, named Brihtric (but nicknamed "Snow"), who was already married. Whatever the truth of the matter, years later when she was acting as Regent for William in England, she used her authority to confiscate Brihtric's lands (without even any formal charges, much less a trial) and throw him into prison, where he died under suspicious circumstances consistent with poisoning.

When William was preparing to invade England, Matilda outfitted a ship, the Mora, out of her own money and gave it to him. For many years it was thought that she had something to do with creating the Bayeux Tapestry, but historians no longer believe that; it seems to have been commissioned by William's half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and made by Saxons in Kent.

Matilda bore William eleven children, and he was believed to have been faithful to her, at least up until the time their son Robert rebelled against his father and Matilda sided with Robert against William. After she died, in 1083 at the age of 51, William became tyrannical, and people blamed it on his having lost her. She was buried at St. Stephen's in Caen, Normandy (then, France now), where William was also eventually buried. Years later, their graves were opened and their bones measured, proving their physical statures.

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Preceded by Edith of Wessex

Queen Consort of England 25 December 1066 - 2 November 1083

Succeeded by Matilda of Scotland