This union was purely political and arranged by the king – following the advice of Queen Emma and Count Geoffrey I – with the double purpose of restoring the Carolingian royal power in the south of the kingdom, and (according to Richerus) to obtain the support of the local southern lords in his fight against the Robertians.

[4] From the very beginning, however, the mismatched couple was unable to live peacefully together,[5] not only due to the notorious age difference between them, but (according to Richerus) also because of Louis' reported affairs: In 984, after two years of childless union[5] (and according to Rodulfus Glaber), Adelaide tricked her young husband into making a visit to Aquitaine, and once there, she left him and returned to her family, marrying shortly thereafter Count William I of Provence: However, despite being recorded by relative contemporary and later sources (Richerus, Rodulfus Glaber, the Chronicon Andegavensi and the Chronicle of Saint-Maxence, among others), the existence of this marriage was recently challenged by historian Carlrichard Brülh.

Initially, Queen Emma dominated the situation, but in the summer of 986 there was a reversal: the Anti-Ottonian party prevailed, after which she was forced to leave court and seek refuge with Hugh Capet.

This event also put Adalberon in a predicament: having been elevated by Otto I to the powerful Archbishopric of Reims, he was forced to leave his episcopal seat and took refuge in one of his fortresses on the Meuse river, which belonged to the Ottonian sphere.

But the clergy, including both Adalberon and Gerbert (who later became Pope Sylvester II), argued eloquently for the election of Hugh Capet, who was not only of royal blood but had proven himself through his actions and his military might.