Empress Matilda was the daughter of King Henry I of England.
Empress Matilda . 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 . 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 . 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 . William Ætheling ( [ wiɫiɑm ætheliŋg ] ; 5 August 1103 -- 25 November 1120 ) , designated or titled Adelin ( alternately rendered as Adelinus , Adelingus , A ( u ) delin or other Latinised Norman-French variants of Ætheling ) , was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland , and was thus heir apparent to the throne .