A Ship Carrying The Heir To England And Other Nobles Sank, And The Tragedy Led To A Terrible Civil War
On November 25, 1120, William Adelin—the grandson of William the Conqueror and the heir to the thrones of England and Normandy—died at the age of 17.
The vessel he was sailing to England, the famous White Ship, struck a boulder and sank. Nearly everyone onboard drowned in the frigid waters. The tragedy led to a civil war in England known as “the anarchy.”
William Adelin was born in 1103, securing the start of a stable and successful dynasty. By 1120, England had been under the rule of his father, Henry I, for 20 years.
That year, William was made the honorary Duke of Normandy and had to pay homage to the King of France.
Henry was supposed to go himself, but he couldn’t face the idea of bowing down before a foreign king. So, he sent William in his place. After completing the task, William joined his father in Barfleur, a Norman port in northwestern France.
Henry had already arranged his own voyage home, but William was enticed by an offer from a local captain named Thomas FitzStephen, whose father had sailed the ship that carried the Conqueror across the sea. FitzStephen had also just gotten a new ship refitted.
The la Blanche Nef, or the White Ship, was well-known for its elegance and speed. William and his entourage boarded the White Ship and indulged in French wine. Soon enough, the drink was passed around to the crew as well.
Then, the drunken party urged FitzStephen to race Henry’s royal ship and try to get England first. The captain and crew rushed out of the port, not paying any attention to the sharp, dangerous rocks they were headed toward. The ship ventured too close to land and struck a submerged rock called the Quillebouef.
The passengers erupted into a panic as the vessel began to take on water, but they had just enough sense to make sure that William got into a lifeboat.
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But when William realized his half-sister Matilda was still on the sinking ship, he ordered the lifeboat to go back and retrieve her, even though it was already overcrowded.
He managed to grab Matilda, but many other desperate men were also able to find their way onto the lifeboat. It ended up sinking, and everyone onboard drowned.
It is said that Henry never smiled again after hearing the terrible news. The king reigned for another 15 years and remarried to try to produce another heir, which was unsuccessful. He was left with just one daughter from his first marriage, who was also named Matilda.
Matilda became an empress after marrying the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. Her father wanted to declare her as his heir, but his barons did not like the idea since no woman had ever ruled England before. When Henry finally died in 1135, his nephew, Stephen of Blois, overthrew Matilda.
The barons crowned Stephen as king, prompting Matilda to invade Normandy in 1139 in an attempt to reclaim the throne.
Thus began the civil war known as “the anarchy.” The kingdom was thrown into chaos and devastation that can be traced back to the White Ship disaster.
If William hadn’t died, perhaps the kingdom would’ve been left intact.
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