Alice of Champagne
Alice of Champagne (French: Alix; c. 1193 – 1246) was the queen consort of Cyprus from 1210 to 1218, regent of Cyprus from 1218 to 1223, and of Jerusalem from 1243 to 1246. She was the eldest daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and Count Henry II of Champagne. In 1210, Alice married her step-brother King Hugh I of Cyprus, receiving the County of Jaffa as dowry. After her husband's death in 1218, she assumed the regency for their infant son, King Henry I. In time, she began seeking contacts within her father's counties in France to bolster her claim to Champagne and Brie against her cousin, Theobald IV. However, the kings of France never acknowledged her claim.
| Alice of Champagne | |
|---|---|
Alice's arrival at Acre | |
| Queen consort of Cyprus | |
| Tenure | 1210–1218 |
| Regent of Cyprus | |
| Tenure | 1218–1232 |
| Regent of Jerusalem | |
| Tenure | 1243–1246 |
| Co-regent | Ralph of Nesle (1243) |
| Born | c. 1193 |
| Died | 1246 |
| Spouses | Hugh I, King of Cyprus Bohemond V, Prince of Antioch Ralph of Nesle |
| Issue | Mary Isabella Henry I, King of Cyprus |
| House | |
| Father | Henry II, Count of Champagne |
| Mother | Isabella I, Queen of Jerusalem |
After a dispute with Philip of Ibelin, bailli of Cyprus in 1223, she left the island. She married Bohemond, heir apparent to the Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli, but their marriage was annulled because of kinship. She laid claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem against the infant Conrad (the son of her niece Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II) who was absent from the kingdom in 1229, but the High Court of Jerusalem rejected her claim. When her son reached the age of majority in 1232, Alice abdicated her regency and departed for France to claim Champagne and Brie. She subsequently renounced her claim and returned to the Holy Land.
In 1240, she married Raoul of Nesle who was about half of her age at the time. The High Court of Jerusalem proclaimed Alice and her husband regents for Conrad in 1243, but their power was only nominal. Raoul of Nesle left the kingdom, and Alice, before the end of the year. Alice retained the regency until her death in 1246.