William I, Count of Boulogne

William I of Blois (c. 1137 – 11 October 1159) was Count of Boulogne (1153–1159) and Earl of Surrey jure uxoris (1153–1159). He was the second son of King Stephen of England and Countess Matilda I of Boulogne.[1]

William I
Count of Boulogne
Reign	17 August 1153 – 11 October 1159
Predecessor	Eustace IV
Successor	Mary I
Born	c. 1137
Died	11 October 1159 (aged c. 22) Toulouse, France
Burial	Hospital of Montmorillon, Poitou
Spouse	Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey
House	Blois
Father	Stephen, King of England
Mother	Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne

When his elder brother, Eustace IV of Boulogne, died in 1153, William was passed over in the succession to England. His father instead conceded the throne to the young Henry Plantagenet (son of his cousin, Matilda) by the Treaty of Wallingford/Winchester to end the war between Stephen and Henry, of which both sides were growing weary. The new King Henry initially allowed William of Blois to retain the earldom of Surrey jure uxoris (in right of his wife).[2]

However, Gervase of Canterbury asserts a plot against Henry's life was discovered in 1154 among some Flemish mercenaries. The plan was to assassinate Henry in Canterbury, and allegedly William of Blois had knowledge of this plot or was in connivance with the mercenaries. Whatever the truth, Henry fled Canterbury and returned to Normandy.

William of Blois had married Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey, in 1148.[1] They had no children. He died, in 1159, of disease near Toulouse, and was buried at the Poitevin abbey of Montmorel. He was succeeded as Count of Boulogne by his sister, Mary I. His widow remarried to Hamelin Plantagenet.

Ancestry

Ancestors of William I, Count of Boulogne
8. Theobald III, Count of Blois 4. Estienne Henri, Comte de Blois 2. Stephen of Blois, King of England 10. William I of England 5. Adèle de Normandie 11. Matilda of Flanders 1. William I of Blois 12. Eustace II, Count of Boulogne 6. Eustache III de Boulogne 13. Ida of Lorraine 3. Matilda of Boulogne 14. Malcolm III of Scotland 7. Mary of Scotland 15. Margaret of Wessex

References

1. Van Houts 2004, p. 112.
2. Wilfred Lewis Warren (1973). Henry II. University of California Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-520-02282-9.

Sources

• R. H. C. Davis (1967), King Stephen
• Thomas K. Keefe, "William, earl of Surrey (c. 1135–1159)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
• Van Houts, Elisabeth (2004). "The Warenne View of the Past, 1066-1203". In Gillingham, John (ed.). Anglo-Norman Studies XXVI: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2003. The Boydell Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Preceded by Eustace IV	Count of Boulogne 1153–1159	Succeeded by Mary I
Preceded by Henry	Count of Mortain 1153–1159