Death of Queen Adeliza of England, second wife of King Henry I
Born around 1103, Adeliza was the daughter of Godrey of Louvain, duke of Lower Lotharingia, an area that is part of Belgium today.
King Henry I’s first wife, Matilda of Scotland, had died in 1118.
Adeliza married King Henry in January 1121, when she was about 18 years old and Henry was fifty-three!
King Henry’s reputation for making children was legendary – he had more than a score of illegitimate children to his name.
However, he only had two legitimate children from his first queen.
William Adelin, his son, was heir to the throne.
However, he drowned in November 1120, in the White ship disaster.
His daughter Matilda, his firstborn, had gone to Germany as an eight year old child, and was now Empress.
King Henry found himself without an heir, and set about finding a new queen.
Adeliza was descended from Charlemagne, and extraordinarily beautiful – she was known as ‘The Fair Maid of Brabant’
Shortly before her marriage to King Henry, Adeliza was elected ‘Lady of the English’.
By early January 1121, Adeliza was on her way to England and a new life as its queen.
King Henry and Adeliza were married in the Royal Chapel, sometime between January 24th and 29th 1121
Adeliza was crowned Queen Consort on 30th January 1121, at Westminster Abbey.
As Adeliza settled into life with Henry, he took her everywhere with him, probably in the hope that she would become pregnant.
Unfortunately, Adeliza did not become pregnant during the almost 15 years of their marriage.
Although Adeliza took no major part in governing the country, she was present at several councils and also played a symbolic role in the royal administration.
Adeliza carried out the usual role of the pious medieval queen.
Adeliza was first queen entitled to a payment of ‘Queen’s Gold.’
This was later an important part of the income of future queens.
It was a tax of an extra ten per cent on any fine to the crown over the value of ten marks.
The fine was standardised when Eleanor of Aquitaine became queen, but Adeliza is the first example of a queen receiving a proportion of a fine.
Adeliza also had lands and revenues of her dowry and position as queen of England.
She had estates in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Middlesex, Gloucestershire and Devon.
She was given part of the royal estate at Berkeley, and the entire county of Shropshire.
Adeliza also held Arundel, including the castle.
This and various other lands had not been held by any other queen, nor did they revert back to the crown on her death, becoming hereditary.
Adeliza appears to have taken an active interest in the management of her lands, and was always gracious and fair to her tenants.
When King Henry died in 1135, Adeliza entered the nunnery at Wilton for a couple of years, more or less retiring from the world.
She was still a young woman, however, and when William D’Albini, lord of Buckenham in Norfolk came courting, she agreed to marry him.
The D’Albini’s were royal stewards and held a solid, important place at court.
William D’Albini had supported Stephen for the throne when King Henry died, rather than Henry’s daughter Matilda.
All the barons had sworn for Matilda during Henry’s lifetime, but most were not disposed to welcome her as queen when it came to crunch time.
Adeliza had spent a lot of time in Matilda’s company while Matilda was Empress of Germany. However, Adeliza’s new husband was staunchly for Stephen.
Empress Matilda prepared to come to England to further her claim to the throne, and Adeliza invited her to stay at her home, Arundel Castle.
Adeliza was of a similar age to Matilda, but she was also her stepmother, and that gave her certain duties and obligations.
One of the roles of a queen, was that of a peace-maker, perhaps Adeliza thought she could make some kind of peace deal between Stephen and Matilda.
What her husband thought of all this is not reported, but he certainly went along with it, which suggests, given his otherwise loyalty to Stephen, that he was prepared to support his wife.
Adeliza was forced to hand over Matilda, when King Stephen besieged Arundel Castle.
Adeliza had been barren in her 15 year marriage to King Henry I, but her union with William D’Albini proved the opposite.
Adeliza suddenly discovered that she was very fertile indeed.
Between 1139 and 1148, she bore seven children.
Adeliza and William’s descendants include Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
The descendants of Adeliza and William D’Albini still own Arundel Castle today.
William and Adeliza embarked on a programme of construction and improvement of Castle Rising in Norfolk.
They re-built the entire castle and graced it with a magnificent entrance hall, rich decoration, and all mod cons in the private chamber.
Castle Rising is thought to be the first in the country with separate Ladies and Gents toilets!
Their descendants also still own Castle Rising to this day.
Adeliza had always been devout, and when her child-bearing years were over, she retired with her husband’s consent, to the Benedictine convent at Afflighem.
Adeliza died there on 23rd April 1151.
Her body was taken to Reading Abbey, where she was buried as a queen beside King Henry I….
Or was she?
Some traditions imply she was buried at the monastery in Afflighem.
It could be, that her heart and viscera were initially buried there, while her body was taken back to England.
