House of Blois chose a wife from the House of Champagne (Adela of Champagne) as a counterpoise to Angevin power. The senior line of the House of Blois became extinct with the death of Joan I of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France, in 1305. Champagne and Navarre passed to the Capetian dynasty. King Stephen I of England, 1135–1154, was both a member of the House of Blois and the last Anglo-Norman King, being the grandson of William the Conqueror through his daughter Adela of Normandy. A branch of the family was established in Sancerre by Stephen I of Sancerre, a younger
The Merry Monarch (musical) The Merry Monarch (musical) The Merry Monarch is an 1890 comic opera that debuted at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. It is an English adaptation of L'étoile by J. Cheever Goodwin, with new music by Woolson Morse. Presented by actor-manager Francis Wilson and his company, which also featured Marie Jansen, "The Merry Monarch" debuted on August 18, 1890, and ran for 49 performances, through October 4. Though this was not considered a long run for the time, the show was turning large profits, and crowds were being turned away from every performance. The "New York Times" reported on