Medieval Heirs: William Adelin

This next installment in my new series, Medieval Heirs (Who Never Ruled), is a little late, as I’ve recently started working full time. However, writing and medieval history are my passions, so even if the posts come later, it’s better than never! As a recap, this series focuses on medieval British heirs to the throne who never ruled, whether from a premature death, usurpation, or another matter entirely. Last post focused on Robert Curthose. And today’s post deals with one of my favorites, William Adelin (yes, the Adelin which inspired my blog name!) and who was mentioned in my post on The White Ship Disaster.

William Adelin, also known as William Æthling

No doubt the seventeen-year-old prince never thought, as watched his father depart on the shores of Normandy back to England, that this would be the last time he’d ever see him. Ordering for much wine to be brought to his ship, and encouraging all to drink liberally, he must’ve thought he was doing a benevolent deed, and just having fun–not signing his own death warrant. But just a few hours later, William Adelin would find himself at the bottom of the sea, his father son-less, and England in a full-blown crisis.

William Adelin was the only legitimate son of Henry I of England. Henry I had several other sons, including Robert of Gloucester and Richard of Lincoln (who also perished with William Adelin), but all but William were born out of wedlock and thus could not inherit the throne. Thus, William grew up the sole, uncontested heir to England–and perhaps, more importantly, an heir with both Norman and Anglo-Saxon blood within him. His mother was Edith (or Matilda) of Scotland, a great-granddaughter of Anglo-Saxon royalty. Uniting the Normans with the Anglo-Saxons was hoped to bring peace and unity to England.

William was born August 5th, 1103, the youngest of his parents’s two children. His older sister, Matilda, was soon sent away in a marriage agreement to the Holy Roman Emperor, and William was presumably given a good education–his mother being a fine patron of the arts. He appears to have learned more from her than his father, as Henry I was often away putting down revolts or warring with French neighbors, leaving his wife as regent of England.

One particularly annoying French neighbor was the Count of Anjou, who Henry just couldn’t beat down. So in 1113, in an effort to make peace with the count, Henry brokered a betrothal between the ten year old William and the count’s daughter, also named Matilda. The two were married about six years later, in 1119, one year after William’s mother’s death and his becoming regent of England–and one year before the terrible disaster.

It was after his wedding that William traveled extensively with Henry I around their French holdings, no doubt learning the ins-and-outs of kingship and how to deal with uprisings and their troublesome relationship with the king of France. Henry I finally, in 1120, decided to make William the nominal Duke of Normandy–he would pay homage to the French king for the lands, although Henry I still oversaw their rule. Henry was perhaps hoping to slowly pass authority and power to his seventeen year old son as he matured–the French kings often did a similar dual-kingship, crowning the heir king while his father yet lived.

Yet that blustery November day in 1120 came, bringing with it possibly the worst succession crisis in British history. Now, all we have to look back on are the “what-ifs”.

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It’s crazy to think how different history and the world could be today if one event hadn’t occurred, if one person had survived. The entire royal family of Britain as we know it would be completely different, with a different history, different names, and different lives.

It’s hard to tell if William Adelin would’ve made a good king–his contemporaries certainly thought he would, and based on who his parents were and his education, it seems likely. I think one thing we can all agree on though, is that he possessed unlimited potential–and all the dreams and hopes of his father. In fact, ever since 1103, much–if not most–of what Henry I did was for his son, securing his rights of being recognized as the future King of England and Duke of Normandy. By 1120, Henry I had finally secured them all–the only thing left undone was for William to inherit.

What do you think? Would William have made a good king? What things do you think may have happened or how would history have changed if William had survived to become William III? Let me know in the comments below. ~ Kay Adelin

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Note for Further Reading: If you’re curious about William Adelin, Henry I, and the events leading up to and surrounding the White Ship Disaster, I highly recommend checking out Charles Spencer’s book, The White Ship! It covers from Henry I’s childhood, all through to close to the end of the Anarchy (the struggle between Henry’s daughter Matilda and her cousin Stephen for the throne of England). You can check out my review for it here!