On a calm, clear night towards the end of November 1120, the White Ship set sail from Barfleur in Normandy, bound for England. Crowding aboard the little vessel, a riotous party of some three hundred passengers and crew were all royally drunk – literally so, since the three great barrels of wine they had consumed had been destined for the court of the English king, Henry I. It was his son, the seventeen-year-old William Adelin, chief among the passengers, who had ordered the wine to be distributed, but this generous gesture would cost him his life. For as the ship flew speedily but erratically among the treacherous rocks lining the coast off Barfleur, the inevitable happened. Driven hard onto a rock and holed below the waterline, the White ship sank, and William, his fellow passengers and crew, were drowned in the icy seas. For Henry I this was not just a personal tragedy. The youngest of three brothers, he, himself, had come to the English throne in controversial circumstances, later defeating his older brother Robert and claiming his dukedom of Normandy as well. He had clearly planned a smoother passage for his heir, for William Adelin, his sole legitimate son, had been trained from childhood for his future role, and already acclaimed by the nobles of England and Normandy as Henry’s successor. Even so, there had been challenges to Henry’s rule, not the least from Robert’s son, William Clito, who along with his supporter, King Louis of France, had recently been defeated in battle. Henry was determined Clito would never succeed him either in England or in Normandy, but where now was he to find an heir for his lands? Read moreSection: NewsGeneralEuropeGuest AuthorsHistoryAncient TraditionsPremiumPreviewRead Later