At an early age, Amalric moved to Cyprus, where he rose to become one of the kingdom's leading barons, and one of the opponents of the dominant Ibelin family.
Amalric joined Alice in exile in Tripoli, but made contact through his aide Gavin of Chenichy with emperor Friedrich II, who was then preparing for the Sixth Crusade.
[2] He then set up a five-member Regency Council consisting of Amalric, Gavin of Chenichy, Amalrich of Bethsan, Hugo of Gibelet and Wilhelm of Rivet.
Amalric fled with the young king and his sisters to Dieu d'Amour Castle,[4] where he was able to withstand a siege for a year, surrendering in the summer of 1230.
While Ibelin and his supporters were busy fighting on the mainland, Amalric received an army from Filangieri with which he wreaked havoc over defenseless Cyprus and conquered multiple castle.