Henry of Blois unsuccessful. However, on 1 March 1139, during the reign of his brother Stephen, Henry obtained a commission as papal legate, which gave him higher rank than Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, making him the most powerful figure in the English Church during the troubled times of the so-called "Anarchy". Thus, when his brother was unavailable, Henry of Blois was the most powerful, and possibly the wealthiest, man in England. Stephen of Blois was crowned King of England in 1135, but the relations between the two brothers were not always peaceful. After the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, Henry found
Hugh I, Count of Blois Avesnes and Margaret of Blois. They had 5 children: Through his marriage Hugh became the first count of Blois from the house of Châtillon. It marked the end of the first dynasty of Blois that lasted over 400 years. After the death of Marie, Hugh married Mahaut, sister of Baldwin III, Count of Guînes. In 1226 the Cisterian nunnery Pont-aux-Dames in Couilly was founded by Hugh. Later Hugh, with the assistance of Philip Mécringes, founded a Cistercian nunnery at Troissy called "L'Amour-Dieu" in 1232. Hugh intended to follow the pious king Louis IX when he started on the Seventh Crusade,