Matilda of Scotland, the wife of King Henry I of England gave birth to their first son William Adelin at Winchester. They already had a daughter called Matilda.

Fulk V of Anjou arranged the marriage of his daughter Matilda to William Adelin, heir to the English crown. Wanting to go on Crusade, Fulk needed to ensure security and a marriage between his family and the English crown would help secure that security.

The son of Henry I was drowned attempting a crossing from Normandy to England. It should have been a straight forward sea crossing from Normandy to England and the weather was good, but the young prince and his young friends had delayed the sailing with their merrymaking in Normandy. The crew of the White Ship were supplied with beer and as a result were in no state to handle the ship safely. The ship hit rocks and began to sink. Prince William was initially rescued and placed in a small boat but on his orders he tried to rescue his sister and the boat was overwhelmed by others hoping to be saved. The small boat tipped over and the prince was drowned.