John and Jenny Fulton

Real International Princesses: Scottish Princess Matilda

By Jenny Fulton

Introduction

My book, An International Princess Alphabet Primer, features princesses from countries and cultures around the world. Each character is named after a real person. These are their stories.

Because the alphabet book was written for young kids, the biographies I’m sharing are short, child-friendly, often rose-tinted summaries.

Scottish Princess Matilda

Scottish Princess Matilda is named for “Matilda the Good Queen.”

Sometime around 1080 A.D., a beautiful baby girl was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. She had blond hair and blue eyes. Her parents named her Edith. This was no ordinary little girl. Her dad, Malcolm III, was the King of Scotland. Her mom, Margaret of Wessex, was the daughter of an English prince.

When the day came for Edith to be baptized as a baby, she grabbed Queen Matilda’s veil (England’s queen was Edith’s godmother) and pulled it off her head! Everyone was amazed. They thought this was a sign the Scottish princess would grow up and become a queen. It turns out, they were right.

When Edith was six years old, her parents sent her and her sister Mary to live at a convent in England. Their aunt was the abbess. The convent was kind of like a boarding school for the princesses. They learned to read, write, and speak three other languages. They also studied math, science, and history. But they never became nuns.

Edith was known for her beauty and kindness. By the time she was 13 years old, the young princess was already saying “no” to marriage proposals. But her parents said “yes” to an English nobleman. However, before Edith could marry him, her dad and brother died in a battle between Scotland and England. Her mom died a few days later. Soon after that, her fiancé ended their engagement.

With her parents gone, Edith’s uncle took over Scotland and forced Edith and her brothers to leave. The siblings fled to England where they were welcomed by the royal family. Seven years later, when Edith was 20 years old, the new king of England, King Henry I, asked her to marry him. Henry and Edith had gotten to know each other over the years and had fallen in love.

On November 11, 1100, Edith married Henry at Westminster Abbey. This is when her name changed to Matilda. As queen, Matilda was very involved in helping Henry I rule England. When he was traveling, she led the country for him. She introduced more books, music, and art to her court. She was very interested in architecture and ordered several new buildings and bridges to be built. These included a bathhouse and several abbeys. Henry I even built Westminster Palace for her. Some people think the nursery rhyme “London Bridge is Falling Down” was written about this queen and that she is the “Fair Lady” in the song. 

With all her incredible accomplishments, Queen Matilda was best known for how much she loved God and how much she cared about her people.

She started two leprosy hospitals and two organizations whose purpose was to help the poor. Sometimes she went to church with bare feet. She was occasionally seen washing sick people’s feet and kissing their hands.

Sadly, this incredible woman died on May 1, 1118 when she was only 38 years old. She was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Along with being known as “Matilda the Good Queen,” she was also called “Matilda of Blessed Memory.” People loved her so much that they asked the Catholic Church to make her one of the saints. Although Matilda’s mom, sometimes called “The Pearl of Scotland,” was later named Saint Margaret, Matilda was never given the title of Saint.

Matilda died young but her legacy lived on. Her daughter Matilda became Empress Maud of the Holy Roman Empire. Her grandson Henry II became the king of England who married the incredible Eleanor of Aquitaine.

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Works Cited

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