The House of Anjou (Plantagenets)

The tragedy of the White Ship left King Henry I, without a male heir as his only legitimate son, William Adelin, drowned.  The ship had about 300 people on board and hit a rock which caused the disaster and consequently ‘rocked the course of history’. As fate would have it - Stephen (nephew of King Henry I) changed his mind at the last minute and did not set sail on the ‘White Ship’ as he feared the ship was overcrowded.

 On the death of King Henry I, Matilda, being the daughter of Henry I, was the true heir but the thought of the country being ruled by a woman was not popular - it was unprecedented (Matilda and Stephen were cousins).  She was known as ‘Empress Matilda’.

King Stephen accepted the Treaty of Wallingford, which meant that on Stephen’s death Matilda’s son, Henry of Anjou, would inherit the throne of England - and since then all English monarchs have descended from Matilda.

King Henry II, was the first Plantegenet King (son of Matilda).

Angers is a beautiful city, rich in history and culture and was the main area of the Plantagenet dynasty. Angers was the capital of Anjou.  Trains depart from Paris to Angers – average traveling time 1 hour 50 mins.  (Gare du Nord, Gare de Lyon and Gare d’Austerlitz.) 

The word ‘Plantagenet’ was originally ‘Plante Genest’ and it was a nickname for Count Geoffrey of Anjou (father of King Henry II) translates to ‘sprig of broom’ and it was Geoffrey Plante Genest who wore a sprig of broom (planta genista) in his hat.