Henry I of France

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Template:Direct Capetians Henry I (French: Henri Ier) (May 4, 1008 – August 4 1060) was King of France from 1031 to 1060.

A member of the Capetian Dynasty, Henry I was born in Reims, France, the son of King Robert II (996–1031) and Constance of Arles (973–1032). He was crowned King of France at the Cathedral in Reims on May 14, 1027.

The reign of Henry I, like those of his predecessors, was marked by territorial struggles, including joining his brother Robert in a revolt against his father. In a strategic move, Henry I came to the rescue of his very young nephew-in-law, the newly appointed Duke William of Normandy, (who would go on to become William the Conqueror), to suppress a revolt by William's vassals. In 1047 Henry I secured the dukedom for William in their decisive victory over the vassals at a battle near Caen.

A few years later, when William, who was cousin to King Edward the Confessor of England (1042–66), married the daughter of the count of Flanders, King Henry I feared William's potential power. In 1054 and again in 1058 Henry I went to war to try to conquer Normandy from William, but on both occasions he was defeated. Despite his efforts, Henry I's twenty-nine-year reign saw feudal power in France reach its pinnacle.

King Henry I died on August 4, 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France, and was interred in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son, Philip I of France, who was 7 at the time of his death; for six years Henry I's Queen, Anne of Kiev, ruled as regent.

He was also Duke of Burgundy from 1016 to 1032, when he abdicated the duchy to his brother Robert Capet.

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Marriages and family

Henry I was betrothed to Matilda, the daughter of the Emperor Conrad II (1024–39), but she died prematurely in 1034. Henry I then married Matilda, daughter of Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia, but she died in 1044, following a Caesarean section. Casting further afield in search of a third wife, Henry I married Anne of Kiev on May 19, 1051. They had four children: