English Queen Consort. She was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders (French: Baudouin V, comte de Flandre), and his wife, Adela, the daughter of Robert II, King of France. Matilda was considered as a prospective bride for William, Duke of Normandy (French: Guillaume, duc de Normandie). Their marriage would have been advantageous politically, providing William with a powerful ally in the neighboring county of Flanders, but it would also have the added benefit of being a prestigious marital alliance because of the prospective bride's distinguished lineage and she was a niece of Henry I, King of France. Apocryphal accounts indicate Matilda initially declined the proposed marriage because of the Duke's illegitimate birth, but eventually agreed to it even though their marriage was not allowed without a papal dispensation under Catholic Church doctrine on the grounds of consanguinity. The proposed marriage was arranged in 1049, but their marriage was forbidden by Pope Leo IX at the Council of Rheims later that same year. Nevertheless, they were married in 1051/1052, the exact date unknown. A papal dispensation was not awarded until later, one account indicating it was awarded as late as 1059 by Pope Nicholas II. As a condition of the dispensation, William and Matilda had to found two churches in Caen as penance. Prior to his marriage, William had established a somewhat tenuous claim to the English throne, held by his childless first cousin once removed, Edward the Confessor, whose mother, Emma of Normandy, was William's great-aunt. Upon Edward's death, however, the throne passed to Harold Godwinson, who was crowned as king on January 6, 1066 in Westminster Abbey. William claimed that Edward had promised the throne to him and that Harold had sworn his support. As a consequence of this alleged betrayal, William prepared to invade England to pursue his claim. During his preparations for the invasion, Matilda provided her own funds to outfit a ship, the Mora, in order to augment her husband's fleet for the invasion. The Mora was the largest and fastest of the invasion fleet of more than seven hundred ships and was used by William as his flagship. The Normans invaded England in September 1066 and were victorious at the Battle of Hastings in which Harold Godwinson was killed on October 14, 1066. William was crowned King of England on December 25, 1066. During her husband's conquest of England and during subsequent absences, Matilda would remain in Normandy where she acted as regent, a role she would fulfill in 1066-1067; 1067-1068; 1069; 1069-1072; 1074; and 1075-1076. She did not visit England until 1068 and was crowned as queen consort on May 11, 1068. As a mother, Matilda oversaw the education of her sons and daughters, who were all very well-educated for the period. She and William had a strong, successful marriage and he never took a mistress and had no illegitimate offspring. Matilda predeceased her husband, dying November 2, 1083. Her husband survived her, dying four years later.