Editing Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne (section)

==Early life==
Eustace was first mentioned in one of his parents' charters dated no later than August 1131.<ref name =DNB/> Stephen ascended the English throne upon the death of his uncle King [[Henry I of England|Henry I]], but Henry's daughter [[Empress Matilda]] claimed the throne as well, leading to the long civil war known as [[the Anarchy]]. As [[heir apparent]] to the English throne in 1137, Eustace did homage for [[Normandy]] to King [[Louis VII of France]]; he was married to Louis's sister [[Constance of France (1124–1176)|Constance]] in 1140 when she was 16 and he was about 10 or 12.<ref>[[Sara McDougall]], ''Royal Bastards: The Birth of Illegitimacy, 800-1230'', (Oxford University Press, 2017), 202.</ref> Eustace was knighted in 1147, at which date he was probably from sixteen to eighteen years of age.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Eustace|display=Eustace s.v. Eustace IV.|volume=9|pages=956–957}}</ref>