[3] Her marriage also laid the groundwork for a period of extended strife in the Anglo Norman lands, Adela was the mother of King Stephen of England whose taking of the throne in preference to her niece Empress Matilda led to the civil war known as The Anarchy.

Adela also worked with Ivo of Chartres at various points, exchanging letters throughout her regency[12] to discuss matters such as the control of misbehaving nuns and larger issues such as disputes about sworn oaths.

[8] While regent, Adela would continue to tour their lands, settling disputes, promoting economic growth, and even commanding knights to go to battle with the king.

[14] The image of Adela persuading her ease-loving husband to redeem his reputation through action has proved popular with historians attempting to account for the crusader motivations.

[8] Even after Thibaud came of age and no longer needed a regent, Adela continued to issue charters and act as co-ruler of many parts of their land.

At two years of age Henry was pledged to the Church at Cluny Abbey, Saône-et-Loire, France, as an oblate child, that is, he was dedicated to the service of God, according to medieval practice.

In addition, Bishop Henry built dozens of abbeys and chapels and sponsored books including the treasured Winchester Bible.

In 1105, after St Anselm visited her during a sickness, she was responsible for communicating the archbishop's earnestness in threatening excommunication to her brother Henry I. Orderic Vitalis praises her as a "wise and spirited woman" who ably governed her husband's estates and her own.

In one such letter to the public from 1104, Adela gifts a monastery a portion of land with all the wildlife inhabiting it, but she reserves the power to pass judgement upon crimes committed in the area.

[17] Adela quarrelled with her eldest son William and despite his previously being named heir-designate,[18] she appointed his younger brother Theobald to replace him as heir in 1107.

Another son, Stephen of Blois, moved to London in 1111 to join the court of his uncle, King Henry I (Beauclerc), and became his favourite.

Upon Beauclerc's death in Normandy (1135), Stephen seized the English throne from Holy Roman Empress Dowager Matilda, King Henry I's daughter, whom the monarch had named as his successor.

[21] In one instance, Adela sent letters to both her son Thibaud[22] and Geoffrey, bishop of Chartres, reminding them of her settlement of a monastic case.

[31] The daughters are not mentioned by name during their youth, only appearing when they reached marriageable age and played an important part in building alliances.