Alys of France ~ Countess of Vexin

F, (4 October 1160 - circa 1220)
Father-Biological*Louis VII The Young King of France b. 1120, d. 18 Sep 1180
Mother-Biological*Constance of Castile d. 4 Oct 1160
Family Lines
Boudreau Line
Last Edited=17 May 2023
     Alys of France ~ Countess of Vexin was born on 4 October 1160 at France.1,2,3 She was the daughter of Louis VII The Young King of France and Constance of Castile. Alys's name was also spelt Alice of France.2 Louis and King Henry II of England signed a contract for the marriage between Alys and Henry's son Richard the Lionheart in January 1169. The 8-year-old Alys was then sent to England as Henry's ward. She was said by some to have been seduced by King Henry II. Richard sent her back to her brother, King Philip II of France, refusing to marry his father's mistress. In 1177, Cardinal Peter of Saint Chrysogonus, on behalf of Pope Alexander III, threatened to place England's continental possessions under an interdict if Henry did not proceed with the marriage. There were widespread rumors that Henry had not only made Alys his mistress, but that she had a child with him. Henry died in 1189. King Richard married Berengaria of Navarre on 12 May 1191, while still officially engaged to Alys. Philip had offered Alys to Prince John, but Eleanor prevented the match.1,3 Richard I voided his marriage contract with Alice of France in March 1190. She was then 30 years old.1

Alys of France ~ Countess of Vexin, age 34, married William III Talvas , Count of Ponthieu and Montreuil, son of Jean I , Count of Ponthieu and Montreuil and Beatrice of Saint Pol, on 20 August 1195.2,4,3 Alys of France ~ Countess of Vexin died circa 1220.2,3

See also.




Compeller's Notes:
Stuart (2002) gives her mother as Adelaide of Blois, while the Wikipeadia article gives Constance of Castile. I have choosen Wikipedia over Stuart (2002). Wikipedia states in the reference section:

Some genealogical sources and websites, relying on P. Anselme, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, 1725 (vol. 1 p. 77), state that Alys was born in 1170 and therefore that her mother was Louis VII's third wife, Alix de Blois (whom Louis married in 1164). The birth date of 1170 is impossible, however, not only because Alys was betrothed in January 1169, but because she must have been of marriageable age in 1177, when the Pope demanded she be married immediately.2,3

Child of Alys of France ~ Countess of Vexin and William III Talvas , Count of Ponthieu and Montreuil

Citations

  1. Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004.
  2. Stuart, Roderick W. Royalty for Commoners, The Complete Known Lineage of John of Gaunt, Son of Edward III, King of England, and Queen Philippa, Fourth Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002.
  3. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Online https://en.wikipedia.org
  4. Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650, Fifth Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982.