Queens Consort by Lisa Hilton Read Free Book Online Page A

June at St Albans, the Empress proceeded to Westminster. Initially, the citizens had been reluctant to receive her, as Matilda of Boulogne’s forces, under her Flemish captain William of Ypres, were laying waste to the land on the Surrey shore, but De Mandeville’s change of sides, and thus the possession of the Tower, smoothed the Empress’s path and she began to make plans for a crown-wearing ceremony at Westminster. It was at this point that she adopted the title of ‘Lady of the English’. The Gesta Stephani , however, considered her behaviour at Westminster far from ladylike. The crown appeared to be within reach, but it was her conduct that allowed it to slip from her grasp. To the Londoners, her behaviour seemed discourteous and stubborn, even downright pig-headed. She demanded large sums of money from the city and insulted its representatives when they turned her down. On her arrival at the palace, she had received petitioners, as was customary for a ruler, including envoys from Matilda of Boulogne whorequested that Eustace be allowed to inherit King Stephen’s Continental holdings if he were not to become king. Failing to appreciate that a show of clemency and ‘feminine’ pacifism would win her vital support, the Empress refused outright. By 24 June, the Londoners had had enough of her, and decided to declare their loyalty to Queen Matilda. The city bells were rung as a signal to the people to storm the palace, and the Empress and her entourage made such a hasty escape that they were obliged to abandon their dinner.
    At first King Stephen’s brother Bishop Henry had been prepared to come to an accommodation with the Empress, but the Westminster debacle was so distasteful to him that he withdrew his support. It was rumoured that the Empress was planning to make an illegal gift of the county of Boulogne to one of her champions, and the Bishop met with Matilda to reassure her, promising to work for the King’s freedom. To recover from the embarrassment of London and to stage a show of strength, the Empress held a court at Oxford, moving on in August to Winchester, where Bishop Henry had immured himself in Wolvesey Palace. Matilda rushed to her brother-in-law’s defence, arriving on 12 August to besiege the besiegers. Her supporters were now swelled by the earls of Essex and Pembroke, who had returned to the royalist camp, bringing a contingent of Essex and Suffolk barons with them, and after two days the Empress and Robert of Gloucester were hounded out of the city, the Empress riding astride her horse like a man for greater speed. She managed to reach Devizes, but Earl Robert, fighting in her rearguard, was taken by the Earl of Warenne.
    Matilda of Boulogne now had a vital hostage of her own and the rival campaigns had reached a stalemate. Once again, women took the diplomatic lead. Matilda communicated with Robert’s wife Mabel, Countess of Gloucester, through messengers to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. Mabel, anxious for her husband’s safety, proposed easy terms for his return, while Matilda suggested that if Stephen were released, Earl Robert could be appointed royal justiciar. William of Malmesbury saw this as an attempt to bribe Robert into changing sides, but the Earl himself rejected both plans, his wife’s because it was motivated by her ‘too eager affection’, according to Malmesbury, and the Queen’s because his sister would never countenance it. Nevertheless, Matilda and Countess Mabel were able to come to an agreement about the fates of the two most powerful men in the country without their conduct being portrayed as arrogant or excessively ambitious. ‘It is striking that there is no disparaging comment, only recognition of their actions as peacemakers and indeedpower brokers, involved in careful diplomacy.’ 14 They finally brokered a complex deal in which Matilda and her younger son William went to Bristol, remaining with Mabel as hostages for Stephen. Meanwhile, the King was