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Person Page 27212

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Adela Alice Princess of England1
b. circa 1062, d. 8 March 1137, #27212
Pop-up Pedigree

Father   William the Conqueror b. 1028, d. 9 September 1087
Mother   Matilda Countess of Flanders b. 1031/32, d. 2 November 1083

Name Variation Adela Alice Princess of England was also found as Princess Adele of England. 
Name Variation Adela Alice Princess of England was also found as Adela dau of William the Conqueror. 
Birth* circa 1062 Adela Alice was born circa 1062 at Normany, France.1,2,3 
Birth circa 1067 Several sources give a birth date of 1067, but this is not used here.4,5,6 
Marriage* circa 1080 Adela Alice Princess of England married Stephen Henry Count of Blois, son of Theobald III 2nd Count of Blois and Champagne and Garsinde of Maine, circa 1080 in France. These are the only children given by Denis
1.Matilda
2.Theobald, Count of Blois
3.Bishop Henry of Winchester
4.Stephen, King of England
5.William

Many more children are attributed to this marriage by other sources.7,8,1,4,6,9 
!AInfoNew* 1095 She appears to have played an active role in the administration of her husband's lands, regularly witnessing his charters, took an active interest in civil and ecclesiastical affairs, and was instrumental in rebuilding the catherdral of Chartres in stone. Having inherited her father's appetite and ability to rule, she became regent in 1095 when she persuaded her popular but weak-willed husband to join the First Crusade to the Holy Land.9 
!AInfoNew 1101 After the death of her husband Stephen in the Holy Lands about 1101 she was no longer a coward's wife but more congenially a hero's widow, Adela continued to rule Blois-Chartres during the minority of her sons. Anselm, her guest and teacher in 1097, was often entertained by her during 1103 and 1105 and she affected a temporary reconciliation between him and her brother, Henry I, who lavished patronage on her second son, Stephen, and appointed a third, Henry, bishop of Winchester, the richest see in England. In 1107 Adela entertained Pope Pascal during Easter and in the following year was hostess to Bohemund of Antioch. She made her son Theobald her successor in 1109, and persuaded him to join her brother Henry I against France in 1117. In 1120 she retired to the abbey of Marcigny-sur-Loire where she died in 1137. By all accounts a forceful personality, Adela's qualities were not uncommon among women artistocrats, although more often they found an outlet in the running of nunneries. Adela's secular career, as de facto ruler for more than a decade of one of the most powerful principalities of northern France, is exceptional testimony to the power of breeding as well as to her own determination.9 
Death* 8 March 1137
Adela Alice died on 8 March 1137 at France. She had become a nun about 1120. She was a benevolent patroness of churches and monasteries. Although married to a French count and living to see a son crowned king of England, she chose to be buried beside her mother at Caen under an inscription 'Adela, filia regis'. She was always the Conqueror's daughter. [Sources: Who's Who in Early Medieval England, Christopher Tyerman, Shepheard-Walwyn, Ltd., London, 1996; Encyclopædia Britannica CD, 1997].1,4,2,10,3,6,9 
Burial* Adela was buried in Cain, Normandy, France.4,6 

Family   Stephen Henry Count of Blois b. before 1045, d. 19 May 1102
Children  1. Odo 4
  2. Matilda 4
  3. Lithiuse (Adele) 4
  4. Phillip of Châlon Bishop of Châlon 4
  5. Comte William "the simple" de Champagne Comte de Chartres+ b. c 1080, d. b 11504
  6. Humbert of Blois Count of Virtus b. c 10824
  7. Agnes of Blois b. bt 1082 - 11024
  8. Eleanor of Blois b. bt 1082 - 11024
  9. Alice of Blois b. bt 1082 - 11024
  10. Theobald II 4th Comte of Blois+ b. c 1093, d. 8 Jan 11521
  11. Steven King of England+ b. c 1096, d. 25 Oct 11541
  12. Henry Bishop of Winchester b. c 10994

Citations
  1. [S10141] BigKings Pedigree, online Church Yard Genealogies, dates not consistent.
  2. Royals pt 29, online Denis Reed.
  3. Download, http://www.patpnyc.com/conq/wmfamily.htm. Excerpts from The Conqueror and his Companions by J.R. Planché, Somerset Herald. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1874.
  4. Adela countess of Blois, online Brian Tompsett.
  5. Download, http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal1380.
  6. .
  7. [S9180] "Email, no hard copy" , e-mail address e-mail address.
  8. [S9754] Continental, online UK government.
  9. Download, Jim Weber http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I05216.
  10. Download, http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cousin/html/d0001/g0000027.html#I4663.
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