His reign was to be marked by the civil war known as "The Anarchy" during which he fought a series of battles to retain the crown which was claimed by his cousin Empress Matilda.
She was elected Abbess of Romsey in 1155,[1] the year following her father's death and the subsequent ascension to the English throne of Empress Matilda's son Henry II.
On 18 December 1161, Pope Alexander III wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Rheims in which he discussed Marie's abduction by Matthew of Alsace and her subsequent constrained marriage.
Following the annulment, Marie re-entered the religious life as a Benedictine nun at St. Austrebert, Montreuil,[1] where she died on 25 July 1182 at the age of about 46.
Her former husband Matthew continued to reign as Count of Boulogne until his death in 1173 when their eldest daughter Ida succeeded as countess.