In 1106, Stephen was sent to his uncle, King Henry I where he was raised in the English court. Henry liked Stephen very much and abt 1115 Stephen was made Count of Mortain. Henry also granted his nephew estates on both sides of the English Channel and he became the richest mand in England & Normandy by 1130.

Stephen married Matilda De Boulogne abt 1125. She was the daughter of Count Boulogne and soon after her marriage she became the Countess of Boulogne. Their marriage was said to by a happy one and Matilda was his chief supporter as he struggled to become the English King. They had three sons, & two daughters. Stephen also had at least three illegitimate children, one of whom, Gervase, became Abbot of Westminster.

When King Henry I of England died in 1135, his daughter Empress Matilda was supposed to become Queen of England. She was his daughter and the granddaughter of William the Conqueror. The majority of the Barons had previously been sworn to support Matilda and her claim to the thone.

Stephen, also being a grandchild of the Conqueror, claimed the throne and claimed the King Henry I had changed his mind on his deathbed and named him to be the King. He was crowned quickly, thus usurping the throne from Empress Matilda. He had the support of most barons and the Pope.

His reign was rather peaceful from 1135 to about 1139 at which time Stephen lost his support and Empress Matilda with the support of her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, brought forces throughout the Kingdom in order to claim the throne as had been previously agreed upon. The country fell into a civil war, also known as 'The Anarchy. Stephen was captured and defeated. The Empress Matilda put him in prison at Bristol.

Stephen's wife gathered support from the barons and people of London and forced Empress Matilda out of London. Robert was captured and she soon had to release Stephen so that Robert could be released. Stephen was restored to the Throne.

The Empress was besieged at Oxford in Dec. 1142, but escaped across the snow wearing a white cape to Wallingford Castle where she was safe with Brien FitzCount. In 1147 Henry II was a teenage and he raised a small army of mercenaries and invaded England. Stephen was scared when he heard rumors that Henry's army must be large. Henry was defeated twice and had no money to pay his army. In secret, he asked Stephen for help and "on receiving the message, the king....hearkened to the young man...and bestowed upon him money and other support" (Gesta Stephani)

Stephen remained the King of England until his death. After a battle at Wallingford with Henry, Stephen's son Eustace died which left him without an heir. He then agreed with Empress Matilda that her son Henry II would succeed Stephen to the throne. This was known as the Treaty of Wallingford)

In 1147, Stephen and Queen Matilda founded Faversham Abbey. Matilda was buried here in 1152 and their son Eustace was buried here in 1153. Stephen died in 1154 at Dover Priory in Dover England and was also buried here.

During the time of the reign of King Henry II, Walter Map wrote in a sketch of Stephen: "A man of a certain age, remarkable hard-working but otherwise a nonentity (idiot) or perhaps rather inclined to evil."

"In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humoured, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes . . . And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept". (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)