Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne

Matilda II of Boulogne
Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne
Queen consort of Portugal and the Algarves
Tenure	4 January 1248–1253
Countess of Boulogne
Tenure	1216–1260
Spouse	Philip I, Count of Boulogne Afonso III of Portugal
Issue
Joan, Countess of Nevers Albert, Count of Clermont
Father	Renaud, Count of Dammartin
Mother	Ida, Countess of Boulogne
Born	?
Died	1260

Mahaut or Matilda II of Boulogne (also known as Mathilde, Maud de Dammartin; died 1260) was Countess of Boulogne in her own right and Queen of Portugal by marriage to King Afonso III from 1248 until their divorce in 1253.

She was the daughter of Ida, Countess of Boulogne and her husband and co-ruler Renaud, Count of Dammartin. She succeeded her mother as Countess of Boulogne in 1216.

First marriage

In 1223, Matilda married her first husband, Philippe Hurepel, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvais, a younger, illegitimate son of King Philip II of France. By marriage to her, Philippe became her co-ruler of Boulogne, Mortain, Aumale, and Dammartin. Count Philippe revolted against his widowed sister-in-law, Blanche of Castile, when his half-brother King Louis VIII died in 1226.

Second marriage

Count Philippe died in 1235, and Matilda reigned independently for three years. To give the county a male head, she married again in 1238 to Infante Afonso, second in line to the Portuguese throne, younger brother of King Sancho II of Portugal. He became King Afonso III of Portugal on 4 January 1248. At that time he renounced Boulogne. In 1253, King Afonso divorced Matilda, probably due to her inability to provide him with a son owing to her advanced age.

Later life

She had a son and a daughter with Count Philippe, but no surviving issue with Afonso, who desperately needed heirs after ascending to the Portuguese throne. Matilda's then apparent barrenness was the true reason for their divorce. According to reports, Queen Matilda remained in Boulogne and was not allowed to follow her husband to Portugal.

Her son reportedly renounced his rights and went to England, for unknown reasons. Apparently he survived his mother the Countess, but presumably did not leave issue. Matilda's daughter, having married a lord de Châtillon-Montjay, predeceased her, and presumably left no surviving issue.

Aftermath

After Matilda II, the county of Boulogne passed to Adelaide of Brabant, Matilda's cousin, daughter of another Matilda of Boulogne (Matilda II's aunt, wife of Henry I, Duke of Brabant).

The then-widow Adelaide's husband had been William X, count of Auvergne. Their son Robert of Auvergne succeeded also his mother in Boulogne and already in her lifetime acted as co-ruler. Their heirs continued to rule Auvergne and Boulogne together. The ultimate heiress was Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France, but a couple of decades before her, the then count of Auvergne, her great-grandfather, had sold Boulogne to the French throne, keeping just Auvergne.

Regnal titles
Preceded by Ida and Renaud	Countess of Boulogne 1216 – ca. 1260 with Philip and Alphonse	Succeeded by Adelaide
Royal titles
Preceded by Mécia Lopes de Haro	Queen consort of Portugal 4 January 1248–1253	Succeeded by Beatrice of Castile

Persondata
Name	Matilda Ii Of Boulogne
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	1260
Place of death