...from Genealogics.org
BIOGRAPHY
Matilda was born in Winchester about 1102, the daughter of Henry I, king of England, and Matilda (Edith) of Scotland. She may have been a twin with her brother William, her father's heir. Diplomacy had her engaged in 1109 to Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V and she was married to him in 1114 when she was just over eleven years old. Eleven years later the emperor died, leaving her a childless widow.
On 25 November 1120 Matilda's brother William drowned, along with his younger brother Richard and their entourage while crossing the Channel in 'The White Ship', a disaster which was to lead to a bitter struggle for succession following Henry's death in 1135. In 1126 Matilda was declared heir to her father. In the following year he married her off, then about twenty-four years of age, to the fourteen-year-old Geoffrey V, comte d'Anjou. Although apparently somewhat reluctant, she bore him three sons.
When her father died in 1135 Matilda should have become queen-regnant. However, her cousin Stephen de Blois intervened. Though he had sworn to support Matilda, he had himself crowned king on St. Stephen's Day 1135 in London, with the support of its citizens. Pope Innocent II acknowledged Stephen who had bribed a great many of the barons as well as Matilda's uncle, David I, king of Scots to obtain their support. In the ensuing civil war, Matilda was supported by her illegitimate half-brother Robert, earl of Gloucester, who became her military commander. In February 1141, Stephen was captured and imprisoned at Bristol and on 7 April 1141 Matilda was proclaimed 'Lady of the English'. However, Stephen's supporters captured the earl of Gloucester and exchanged him for Stephen. Stephen had himself re-crowned and the civil war continued.
In 1144 Matilda's husband Geoffrey of Anjou took Normandy, and in 1150 he invested their son Henry as its duke. In 1153 Henry, by now twenty years old, took Matilda's place as claimant to the English throne while Matilda retired to Normandy. In 1153 a treaty was signed at Westminster that Stephen would remain king for life but Henry would be his successor. In 1154 Stephen died and Henry succeeded him as King Henry II. Matilda, who remained in Normandy, died at Rouen in 1167.
from Wikipedia.org....
Empress Matilda (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude,[nb 1] was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as a child when she married the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She travelled with her husband to Italy in 1116, was controversially crowned in St Peter's Basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in Italy. Matilda and Henry V had no children, and when he died in 1125, the imperial crown was claimed by his rival Lothair of Supplinburg.
Matilda's younger and only full brother, William Adelin, died in the White Ship disaster of 1120, leaving Matilda's father and realm facing a potential succession crisis. On Emperor Henry V's death, Matilda was recalled to Normandy by her father, who arranged for her to marry Geoffrey of Anjou to form an alliance to protect his southern borders. Henry I had no further legitimate children and nominated Matilda as his heir, making his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors, but the decision was not popular in the Anglo-Norman court. Henry died in 1135, but Matilda and Geoffrey faced opposition from Anglo-Norman barons. The throne was instead taken by Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois, who enjoyed the backing of the English Church. Stephen took steps to solidify his new regime but faced threats both from neighbouring powers and from opponents within his kingdom.
In 1139, Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother Robert of Gloucester and her uncle King David I of Scotland, while her husband, Geoffrey, focused on conquering Normandy. Matilda's forces captured Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, but the Empress's attempt to be crowned at Westminster collapsed in the face of bitter opposition from the London crowds. As a result of this retreat, Matilda was never formally declared Queen of England, and was instead titled "Lady of the English" (Latin: domina Anglorum). Robert was captured following the Rout of Winchester in 1141, and Matilda agreed to exchange him for Stephen. Matilda became trapped in Oxford Castle by Stephen's forces that winter, and to avoid capture was forced to escape at night across the frozen River Isis to Abingdon, reputedly wearing white as camouflage in the snow. The war degenerated into a stalemate, with Matilda controlling much of the south-west of England, and Stephen the south-east and the Midlands. Large parts of the rest of the country were in the hands of local, independent barons.
Matilda returned to Normandy, now in the hands of her husband, in 1148, leaving her eldest son to continue the campaign in England; he eventually succeeded to the throne as Henry II in 1154, forming the Angevin Empire. She settled her court near Rouen and for the rest of her life concerned herself with the administration of Normandy, acting on her son's behalf when necessary. Particularly in the early years of her son's reign, she provided political advice and attempted to mediate during the Becket controversy. She worked extensively with the Church, founding Cistercian monasteries, and was known for her piety. She was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167.