Henry himself had only one son, William Aetheling, by his first wife Matilda. This young William held great promise for the King and as the only son tremendous value to his father. He was eventually engaged to a daughter of the Lords of Fulk, bringing some peace to the warring realms of the northern French plains. William however lived a pampered life, given much attention and power from his father.
But the fates intervened. Upon a cold eve while in France the Prince boarded the White Ship, the fastest ship in the King's fleet, to return to England. The Prince and his whole entourage were enjoying the revelry of the day, as were most of the crew, when they hit the water. With the shore vanishing in the distance the ship suddenly struck a rock and foundered, a great hole torn in its hull. Taking on water the passengers scrambled to save William and loaded him and a few others onto a small boat and sent them back to France.
But as the ship went under William could hear the screams of his half sister and he could not bare to lose her, so he turned the boat around and tried to rescue her. But others were in the water and in their panic they attempted to crawl aboard and only managed to turn the craft over, and sending it and young William beneath the cold waves.
So history turned, for Henry had no issue and his sister's son, Stephen, became King after him, inaugurating 3 decades of war and turmoil until his nephew the Count of Anjou and Maine became King of England, styled Henry II, father of Richard the Lion Hearted and John.
If not for the love Wiliam Aetheling bore his sister, what then would the world have been?
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing that story!
When I read that I thought, how utterly cool. This young Prince gave up all for his sister, and even a half sister at that. What at first appeared a young spoiled prince, turned out to be a young man of extraordinary devotion and courage.
Of course in his veins flowed the blood of William the Conqueror.
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