Matilda of Flanders (; ; German: Mechtild) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was the mother of at least nine children who survived to adulthood, including two kings of England, William II and Henry I.
Family background
Matilda was born into the House of Flanders, in 1031, as the only daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders and Adela of France. Flanders was of strategic importance to England and most of Europe as a "stepping stone between England and the Continent" necessary for strategic trade and for keeping the Scandinavian intruders from England. In addition, her mother was the daughter of Robert II of France. For these reasons, Matilda was of grander birth than William, who was illegitimate.
Rumours of romances
There were rumours that Matilda had been in love with the English ambassador to Flanders and with the great Anglo-Saxon thegn Brictric, son of Algar, who (according to the account by the Continuator of Wace and others) in his youth declined her advances. Whatever the truth of the matter, years later she is said to have used her authority to confiscate Brictric's lands and throw him into prison, where he died.
Marriage
Matilda, or Maud, was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and Adela, herself daughter of King Robert II of France.
250px|right|thumb|Seal of [[William the Conqueror]]
Prior to the marriage
Accounts suggest that the marriage took some time to arrange.
William's status
According to legend, when the Norman duke William the Bastard (later called the Conqueror) sent his representative to ask for Matilda's hand in marriage, she told the representative that she was far too high-born to consider marrying a bastard.
William's violence
After hearing this response, William rode from Normandy to Bruges, forced himself into her bedroom and soundly beat her. Another version has the illegitimate duke dragging her from her horse and pursuing his rough courtship in the roadside mud.
She stood as godmother for Matilda of Scotland, who would become Queen of England after marrying Matilda's son Henry I. During the christening, the baby pulled Queen Matilda's headdress down on top of herself, which was seen as an omen that the younger Matilda would be queen some day as well.
Death and burial
Matilda fell ill during the summer of 1083 and died on 2 November 1083. Her husband was present for her final confession. William swore to give up hunting, his favorite sport, to express his grief after the death of his wife. He himself died four years later in 1087.thumb|Tomb of [[William the Conqueror at the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen|250x250px]]thumb|Tomb of Matilda of Flanders at the [[Abbaye aux Dames, Caen|left]]Contrary to the common belief that she was buried at St. Stephen's, also called l'Abbaye-aux-Hommes in Caen, Normandy, where William was eventually buried, she is entombed in Caen at l'Abbaye aux Dames, which is the community of Sainte-Trinité. An 11th-century slab of black ledger stone decorated with her epitaph, marks her grave at the rear of the church. In contrast, the grave marker for William's tomb was replaced as recently as the beginning of the 19th century.
Over time Matilda's tomb was desecrated and her original coffin destroyed. Her remains were placed in a sealed box and reburied under the original black slab. In 1959 Matilda's incomplete skeleton was examined and her femur and tibia were measured to determine her height. Her height was , a normal female height for the time. However, as a result of this examination she was misreported as being leading to the myth that she was extremely small.
Issue
Matilda and William had four sons and at least five daughters. The birth order of the boys is clear, but no source gives the relative order of birth of the daughters.
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! style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #d6bee8, #f0e8f8); color:#333; padding:0.8em; text-align:center;" | Child
! style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #d6bee8, #f0e8f8); color:#333; padding:0.8em; text-align:center;" | Birth – Death
! style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #d6bee8, #f0e8f8); color:#333; padding:0.8em; text-align:center;" | Notes
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| Robert
| c. 1053 – 10 February 1134
| Duke of Normandy; married Sybil of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey of Conversano.
|-
| Richard
| c. 1055 – c. 1069–74
|-
| Constance
| c. 1062 – 1090
| Betrothed to Harold Godwinson, Alfonso VI of Castile, and possibly Herbert I, Count of Maine, but died unmarried.
|}
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