Marriages
Adeliza married Henry I of England on 24 January 1121, when she is thought to have been in her late teens and Henry was fifty-three. It is believed that Henry only married again because he wanted a male heir. Despite holding the record for the most illegitimate children of a British monarch, Henry had only one legitimate son, William Adelin, who predeceased his father on 25 November 1120 in the White Ship disaster. It is usually assumed that Henry married Adeliza because of this disaster; however, negotiations to find a new wife began as early as 1119.
Adeliza was reputedly quite pretty, known as the "Fair Maid of Brabant." More importantly, her father was a vassal of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, son-in-law of Henry. It is possible that his daughter was influential in making the match. Godfrey was motivated to protect his lands from the newest Count of Flanders, Charles. As Flanders had been long-term enemies of the Normans, marrying his daughter to the English king aligned Godfrey with a natural ally. Despite all these hopes, no children were born during the marriage.
Read more about this topic: Adeliza Of Louvain
Famous quotes containing the word marriages:
“If common sense had been consulted, how many marriages would never have taken place; if uncommon or divine sense, how few marriages such as we witness would ever have taken place!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“You can no more keep a martini in the refrigerator than you can keep a kiss there. The proper union of gin and vermouth is a great and sudden glory; it is one of the happiest marriages on earth, and one of the shortest-lived.”
—Bernard Devoto (1897–1955)
“Those Marriages generally abound most with Love and Constancy, that are preceded by a long Courtship.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)