Marie I, Countess of Boulogne.

About Marie I, Countess of Boulogne

Marie (1136–1182), also called Mary of Blois, was an English princess and nun and the countess of Boulogne in the 1160s. The daughter of King Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne, she was dedicated to the Church as a child and made prioress of Higham. In the late 1150s, she was elected abbess of Romsey. Upon the death of her brother William in 1159, she became heir to the County of Boulogne in northern France. The following year, she was taken from her abbey by Matthew of Alsace, who married her and claimed the county. The couple separated in 1169 after intense pressure from the Church. She then returned to religious life, but remained involved in the governance of the county and the upbringing of their daughters, Ida and Matilda.