Blois – Angevin unity

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII
Blois – Angevin unity

note:
this is a rewrite of the blesvins.

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Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII

On 1151, Eleanor of Aquitaine would be seen admiring Henry of Normandy in the meeting of the vassals of the French King by Louis VII which would make him try to impregnate Eleanor of Aquitaine again which does happen after the long prayers of the nobles and the king himself wishing that the divorce would not be granted and he would have a son with Eleanor of Aquitaine and finally on the autumn of 1151 the wish was granted and Eleanor announced a pregnancy which would delay the annulment arrangement and when a son was born on May 1152, baptized as Louis, the annulment plan of Eleanor would not happen as she would give him a heir which made Eleanor unhappy, the King would make the son as his heir even if the son has a doubtful paternity and Eleanor was sent into 2 years of seclusion in order to stop her into having an affair with Henry of Anjou who she wants to marry supposedly after her supposed divorce.

Eleanor would treat the birth of a son with the King of France as the one that prevented her own happiness and would not blame her son for being born but this was not the end of the troubles of Eleanor of Aquitaine since Eleanor herself would end up being in seclusion due to her husband learning of her affairs with Henry and Geoffroy of Anjou.

Louis who is the waited son of Louis VII, which would only be followed by twins in 1160 named Alienor and Philippe in 1160 and a final daughter named Philippa in 1164, there is a doubt in the paternity of their son, Louis due to the affair of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry I, count of Anjou which was discovered by the Louis VII, however, Louis VII would raise and treat Louis as his own son.

On 1152, a betrothal between Raymond V, the duke of Toulouse and Marie of France was arranged, at this point, Marie is just 7 years old, she will marry her husband in 1159, on her maturity, while Alice of France is betrothed to William the Lion of Scotland.
 
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Angevin and Blois succession
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Northwest France in 1150
Angevin and Blois succession
In 1151 Eustace joined Louis in an abortive raid upon Normandy, which had accepted the title of the Empress Matilda, and was now defended by her husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, on 1153, Eustace of Boulogne would die in 1153 and a peace was arranged between the Blois and Angevins which had Marie of Boulogne the daughter of Stephen of Blois married to Henry of Anjou in exchange of Henry recognizing William as the ruler of England and Normandy after the death of Stephen I of England, and Henry would be recognized as the ruler of Maine and as successor of the Kingdom of England and Normandy if both Eustace and William die without children.

Henry and Marie would have the following children

William b. 1155

Alice of England b. 1156 – Duchess of Saxony

Stephen b. 1166

Matilda of England c. 1170 – Duchess of Brabant

Constance of France would remarry to Theobald II of Champagne to make Champagne to be closely tied with the French royal house, William, the count of Boulogne would succeed the.

Both Eustace and William II of England would die without issue, Eustace died in 1153 and William II died in 1159, his widow would marry Humphrey of Anjou, an illegitimate son of the husband of Empress Matilda while Henry II would succeed as king after the death of William II of England and as consort to the County of Boulogne.
 
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Angevin Succession
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Henry II of England

Angevin Succession

On 1159, on the death of the two sons of King Stephen, Henry II, formerly just the count of Anjou and Maine would succeed to the crown of France with the support of Thomas Becket and other people behind the throne would support him.

On landing in England on 8 December 1159, Henry quickly took oaths of loyalty from some of the barons and was then crowned alongside Eleanor at Westminster on 19 December. The royal court was gathered in April 1160, where the barons swore fealty to the King and his sons. Several potential rivals still existed, including Stephen's cousin Theobald and Henry's brothers Geoffrey and William, but—fortunately for Henry—they all died in the next few years, leaving Henry's position remarkably secure. Nonetheless, Henry inherited a tricky situation in England, as the kingdom had suffered extensively during the civil war. In many parts of the country the fighting had caused serious devastation, although some other areas remained largely unaffected. Numerous "adulterine", or unauthorized, castles had been built as bases for local lords. The royal forest law had collapsed in large parts of the country. The king's income had declined seriously and royal control over the mints remained limited.

He would also inherit Boulogne from his own wife Marie of Blois due to her brothers being without an issue and since they have many children their succession would be stable and secure although Thomas Becket would argue with Henry II due to his own attitude as king of England.

However, this was only the beginning as he would have problems with the Kings of France due to him inheriting the coastal area of France that the Capetians would want to inherit and due to that Alice of France would marry William the Lion of Scotland.

On 1160, Elizabeth of Vermandois would give birth to a daughter to Count Philip of Flanders named Margaret which is betrothed to William, the son of Henry II, she would be her only child.

Some of the former Blois partisans would want to give the throne to Theobald of Champagne, however Henry II would have dedicated support among the nobles of England and Normandy.
 
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