Alix of France

Not to be confused with Alys, Countess of the Vexin.

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 – 1197/1198) 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 I of England and his younger brother John. 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. 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

Family of Alix of France

16. Henry I of France               8. Philip I of France                       17. Anne of Kiev               4. Louis VI of France                             18. Floris I, Count of Holland               9. Bertha of Holland                       19. Gertrude of Saxony               2. Louis VII of France                                   20. Amadeus II of Savoy               10. Humbert II of Savoy                       21. Joan of Geneva               5. Adelaide of Maurienne                             22. William I, Count of Burgundy               11. Gisela of Burgundy                       23. Etiennette               1. Alix of France, Countess of Blois                                         24. William VIII of Aquitaine               12. William IX of Aquitaine                       25. Hildegarde of Burgundy               6. William X of Aquitaine                             26. William IV of Toulouse               13. Philippa of Toulouse                       27. Emma of Mortain               3. Eleanor of Aquitaine                                   28. Boson II de Châtellérault, Viscount of Châtellérault               14. Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault                       29. Aenora of Thouars               7. Aenor de Châtellerault                             30. Bartelmy de l'Isle-Bouchard               15. Dangerose de L'Isle Bouchard                       31. Gerberge de Blaison

Sources

• Meade, Marion. Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1991
• Wheeler, Bonnie, and Parsons, John Carmi, eds. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, 2002