On this day in ...
... 1153 (855 years ago today) , in England, the Treaty of Wallingford was signed. The pact "effectively ended The Anarchy, a dispute between Empress Matilda [left] and her cousin Stephen of England over the English crown." Matilda, the 1st woman to rule England, did so without challenge for just a year, 1141. The
Wallingford accord required her challenger, Stephen, to recognize as his heir Matilda's son, who would be crowned Henry II in 1154.... 1999, by a margin of 54.87% to 45.13%, Australians voted against "a proposal to break ties with the British monarchy and become a republic." Queen Elizabeth II, the woman who's ruled Britain since in 1952, thus remains Australia's head of state.
