He had enlarged his dominions by the conquest of Normandy; he had subdued all his competitors, and forced even the King of France, their great protector, after a glorious victory, to his own conditions of a peace; he was upon very good terms with the Pope, who had a great esteem and friendship for his person, and made him larger concessions than was usual from that see, and in those ages.

At home he was respected by the clergy, reverenced by the nobles, and beloved by the people; in his family he was blessed with a son of much hopes, just growing to years of manhood, and his daughter was an empress; so that he seemed to possess as great a share of happiness as human life is capable to admit.

But the felicity of man depends upon a conjunction of many circumstances, which are all subject to various accidents, and every single accident is able to dissolve the whole contexture; which truth was never verified more than in this prince, who by one domestic misfortune, not to be prevented or foreseen, found all the pleasure and content he proposed to himself by his prudence, his industry, and his valour, wholly disappointed and destroyed: for William the young prince having embarked at Barfleur some time after his father, the mariners being all drunk, suffered the ship to run upon a rock, where it was dashed to pieces: the prince made a shift to get into the boat, and was making to the shore, until forced back by the cries of his sister, whom he received into the boat, so many others crowded in at the same time, that it was immediately overturned.
There perished, beside the prince, a natural son and daughter of the King's, his niece, and many other persons of quality, together with all their attendants and servants, to the number of a hundred and forty, beside fifty mariners, but one person escaping.
Although the King survived this cruel misfortune many years, yet he could never recover his former humour, but grew melancholy and morose; however, in order to provide better for the peace and settlement of the kingdom after his death, about five months after the loss of his son, his former Queen having died three years before, he married Adeliza, a beautiful young lady of the family of Lorraine,[24] in hopes of issue by her, but never had any.
[Footnote 24: She was daughter of Godfrey Duke of Louvain, or the Lower Lorraine.

[D.S.]] 1124.
The death of the prince gave occasion to some new troubles in Normandy; for the Earls of Meulant and Evreux, Hugh de Montfort, and other associates, began to raise insurrections there, which were thought to be privately fomented by the French King, out of enmity to King Henry, and in favour of William the son of Robert, to whom the Earl of Anjou had lately given his daughter in marriage.

But William of Tankerville, the King's lieutenant in Normandy, surprising the enemy's forces by an ambush, entirely routed them, took both the earls prisoners, and sent one of them (Meulant) to his master; but the Count d'Evreux made his escape.
1126.
King Henry having now lost hope of issue by his new Queen, brought with him, on his return to England, his daughter Maud, who by the Emperor's death had been lately left a widow and childless; and in a Parliament or general assembly which he had summoned at Windsor, he caused the crown to be settled on her and her children, and made all his nobles take a solemn oath to defend her title.