Adèle of Champagne
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Adèle de Champagne (c. 1140 – June 4, 1206) was the daughter of Theobald IV of Blois and Matilda of Carinthia.
She was the third wife of Louis VII of France, with whom she had two children:
- Dieudonné, the future Philippe Auguste (born August 21, 1165), the only male heir of Louis VII
- Agnes of France c. 1171 - after 1240)
She was active in the political life of the kingdom, along with her brothers Henry I of Champagne, Theobald V of Blois, and William, archbishop of Reims. Henry and Theobald were married to daughters of Louis VII and his first wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. She and her brothers felt their position threatened when the heiress of Artois, Isabelle of Hainaut, married Adèle's son, Philippe. Adèle formed an alliance with Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy and Count Philip of Flanders, and even tried to interest Frederick Barbarossa. War broke out in 1181, and relations became so bad that Philippe attempted to divorce Isabelle in 1184.
Although her power decreased after the accession of Philippe in 1180, she acted as regent of the kingdom in 1190 while Philip was away on the Third Crusade. She returned to the shadows when he returned in 1192 but participated in the founding of many abbeys.
She died on June 4, 1206, and was buried in the church of Pontigny near Auxerre.
