Alix of France

Alix of France
Born 1151
Died 1197/8
Spouse Theobald V, Count of Blois
Issue
more...		 Louis I, Count of Blois
Margaret, Countess of Blois
House Capet
Father Louis VII, King of France
Mother Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine

Alix of France (July–August 1150[1] – 1197/1198) was countess consort of Blois and regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse and the minority of her son from 1190 until 1197. She was the second daughter born to King Louis VII of France and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Early life

The daughter of the King of France and the Duchess of Aquitaine, Alix was named after her aunt Petronilla of Aquitaine, who was also called "Alix". The birth of a second daughter to Eleanor and Louis instead of a badly needed son was one of the final nails in the coffin of their marriage. Her parents' marriage was annulled in 1152, barely a year after Alix's birth. She and her sister, Marie, were declared legitimate, and the custody of the two girls was awarded to their father. Eleanor soon after left the French court and just eight weeks later, she married Henry II, Duke of Normandy, who later became King of England. In due course, Alix became the older half-sister to several maternal half-siblings, including Richard the Lionheart and his younger brother John Lackland. Louis also remarried, firstly to Constance of Castile, who gave birth to Margaret of France and Alys, Countess of the Vexin, and secondly to Adèle of Champagne, who bore Philip II of France and Agnes, the Byzantine Empress.

Countess of Blois

In 1164, Alix married Theobald V, Count of Blois, who, ironically enough, had previously attempted to abduct Alix's mother to force her into a marriage with him.[2] Her older sister, Marie, married Theobald's brother, Henry.

Alix served as regent of Blois on several occasions, such as when her husband left for the East and their son was still underage. She also continued to serve as regent for several years after Theobald's death in 1191.

Alix and Theobald had seven children:

  1. Theobald (d. 1182)
  2. Louis I, Count of Blois, who died in Constantinople in 1205
  3. Henry (d. 1182)
  4. Philip (d. 1202)
  5. Margaret, Countess of Blois (d. aft. 1230), who married (1) Otto I, Count of Burgundy; (2) Gauthier II, Seigneur of Avesnes
  6. Isabella (1180–1247/1248), married (1) Sulpice of Amboise; (2) Jean de Montmirail
  7. Alix, Abbess of Fontevrault

Alix died in 1197/98.

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Weir, Alison: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life p.74
  2. ↑ Chronique de Touraine

Sources

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