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On the 1st of January 1127, here in the great hall at Westminster, the nobles of Henry's kingdom swore a solemn oath that they would support Matilda's right to succeed to her father's throne. No one tried to argue that a woman couldn't rule. But the likelihood is that the nobles were paying lip service to an idea that they thought would never happen. And Henry had an alternative plan. Matilda was still young. If she could give him a grandson, England might yet be ruled by a King of his bloodline. So once again, he sent her away to be married. She might have been promised a powerful future, but for the moment she was still her father's pawn. Since the conquest, the Kings of England had ruled both England and Normandy but this new Anglo-Norman realm was difficult to hold together. One way to defend it was to create alliances through marriage, so Henry chose as Matilda's bridegroom Geoffrey of Anjou, whose lands to the south of Normandy could protect Henry's borders. |
