Agnes-Anne of France (b. 1171)

Byzantine empress. Name variations: Agnes of France. Born in 1171; died after 1240; daughter of Louis VII (1120–1180), king of France (r. 1137–1180), and Adele of Champagne (1145–1206); sister of Philip II Augustus, king of France (r. 1180–1223); became childbride of Alexius II Comnenus (1167–1183) Byzantine emperor (r. 1180–1183), on Easter 1179 (Alexius was killed in 1183); married Andronicus I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor (r. 1183–1185), in 1183; married Theodor Branas in 1204; children: (second marriage) possibly Manuel.

Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus had a predilection for Frankish ways. Both his wives were Western princesses. His first was the German Bertha-Irene of Sulzbach , who gave him two daughters. Following her death, he married Marie of Antioch , the mother of his legitimate son Alexius II. When Manuel died in 1180, Marie of Antioch assumed the regency for the 11-year-old Alexius, who was growing up with his intended bride Agnes-Anne of France. Intentions went astray in 1182, when Andronicus Comnenus, a cousin of the imperial family, arrived in Constantinople. Convincing Alexius to sign a death warrant for his mother Marie of Antioch, Andronicus had himself crowned co-emperor. Andronicus' henchmen strangled Alexius, whose widow, the 12- or 13-year-old Agnes-Anne of France was made to marry Andronicus. Despite his ruthless usurpation, Andronicus I was a popular ruler at the beginning of his reign; he rooted out corruption and tried to improve the administration of the empire. It is said that when he was killed by the mob during a revolt three years later (1185), his wife Agnes-Anne mourned his loss deeply.