The White Ship was a vessel transporting many nobles, including the heir to the English throne, that sank in the English Channel near the Normandy coast off Barfleur during a trip from France to England on 25 November 1120. Only one of approximately 300 people aboard, a butcher from Rouen, survived.
The White Ship sinking
Henry I and the sinking White Ship
The Kelmscott Press publication of Rossetti's poem on the White Ship, as part of their Ballads and Narrative Poems edition of his work.
William Ætheling (Middle English: [ˈwiliəm ˈaðəliŋɡ], Old English: [ˈæðeliŋɡ]; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called Adelin was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir apparent to the English throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis, known in English history as the Anarchy.
William Adelin
An early 14th-century depiction of the sinking of the White Ship at Barfleur on 25 November 1120