King Henry I, the third Norman king of England, ruled the country from 1100 to 1135 and the duchy of Normandy from 1106 to 1135. As the youngest of the four sons of William the Conqueror, Henry began life with little prospects, but through cunning, subterfuge and good fortune ended up inheriting all of his father’s lands and titles, becoming one of our most successful, yet poorly known, monarchs. While England remained largely peaceful during his reign, Henry had to fend off attacks against his newly acquired duchy from King Louis VI of France and his supporters, including Count Fulk V of Anjou. Henry was desperate to have Louis recognise his only legitimate son, William Aetheling, as heir to Normandy but the latter’s death in the tragedy of the White Ship scuttled Henry’s plans and he had to follow a new and dangerous policy – that of securing the throne for his only other legitimate child – his daughter, the Empress Matilda.On his death in 1135, Henry believed that he had done all he could to secure the succession for Matilda, but events would prove otherwise and England and Normandy would be racked by the civil war known as the ‘Anarchy’, when all of Henry’s hard work was torn apart. Ruthless – he threw his elder brother, Robert Curthose, into prison for the rest of his life – astute – he created the exchequer – and praised as 'the Lion of Justice', Henry I deserves to be better known.
