Empress Matilda was the daughter of the king of England.
Empress Matilda . The throne was instead taken by Matilda 's cousin Stephen of Blois , who enjoyed the backing of the English Church . Stephen, King of England . Placed into the court of his uncle , Henry I of England , Stephen rose in prominence and was granted extensive lands . When Henry I died in 1135 , Stephen quickly crossed the English Channel and with the help of his brother Henry of Blois , a powerful ecclesiastic , took the throne , arguing that the preservation of order across the kingdom took priority over his earlier oaths to support the claim of Henry I 's daughter , the Empress Matilda .