King Henry, I

King Henry, I

Male 1068 - 1135  (~ 67 years)

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  • Name King Henry 
    Suffix
    Born Sep 1068  Selby, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Reign Between 2 Aug 1100 and 1 Dec 1135  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    King of England 
    Coronation 5 Aug 1100  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    King of England 
    House Norman Dynasty 
    Tenure Between 1106 and 1 Dec 1135  Normandy, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Duke of Normandy 
    Reference Number 5811 
    Died 1 Dec 1135  St Denis, Cher, Centre, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Age: 67
    Buried 4 Jan 1136  Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Age: 68
    Person ID I5811  Families

    Father King William, I,   b. Abt 1028, Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 Sep 1087, Priory of Saint Gervase, Rouen, Normandy Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 59 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Mother Matilda of Flanders,   b. Abt 1031,   d. 2 Nov 1083  (Age ~ 52 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Family ID F2131  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sibyl Corbet,   b. 1075, Warwickshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1157, Blaen-y-cwm, Breconshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 82 years) 
    Children 
     1. Robert Gloucester De Caen,   b. 1090, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 31 Oct 1147, Somerset, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 57 years)  [natural]
    Family ID F1834  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - Sep 1068 - Selby, Yorkshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsReign - King of England - Between 2 Aug 1100 and 1 Dec 1135 - England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsCoronation - King of England - 5 Aug 1100 - England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsTenure - Duke of Normandy - Between 1106 and 1 Dec 1135 - Normandy, France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 1 Dec 1135 - St Denis, Cher, Centre, France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - 4 Jan 1136 - Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    King Henry I
    King Henry I
    King of England

  • Notes 
    • William II was followed on the throne by his younger brother, Henry. He was crowned three days after his brother's death, against the possibility that his eldest brother Robert might claim the English throne.

      After the decisive battle of Tinchebrai in 1106 in France, Henry completed his conquest of Normandy from Robert, who then (unusually even for that time) spent the last 28 years of his life as his brother's prisoner.

      An energetic, decisive and occasionally cruel ruler, Henry centralised the administration of England and Normandy in the royal court, using 'viceroys' in Normandy and a group of advisers in England to act on his behalf when he was absent across the Channel.

      Henry successfully sought to increase royal revenues, as shown by the official records of his exchequer (the Pipe Roll of 1130, the first exchequer account to survive). He established peaceful relations with Scotland, through his marriage to Mathilda of Scotland.

      Henry's name 'Beauclerc' denoted his good education (as the youngest son, his parents possibly expected that he would become a bishop); Henry was probably the first Norman king to be fluent in English.

      In 1120, his legitimate sons William and Richard drowned in the White Ship which sank in the English Channel. This posed a succession problem, as Henry never allowed any of his illegitimate children to expect succession to either England or Normandy.

      Henry had a legitimate daughter Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V, subsequently married to the Count of Anjou). However, it was his nephew Stephen (reigned 1135-54), son of William the Conqueror's daughter Adela, who succeeded Henry after his death, allegedly caused by eating too many lampreys (fish) in 1135, as the barons mostly opposed the idea of a female ruler.