Cecile of France was a daughter of Philip I of France

Philip I of France

Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time...

 and Bertrade of Montfort. The Historia Regum Francorum Monasterii Sancti Dionysii names "Philippum et Florum et filiam unam" as children of "Philippus rex [et] Fulconi Rechin Andagavorum comiti uxorem", specifying that the (unnamed) daughter married "Tanchredus Anthiochenus". Her parentage is recorded by William of Tyre

William of Tyre

William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...

, who also records her two marriages.

Her first marriage was arranged while Bohemond I of Antioch was visiting the French court seeking support against Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...

. She sailed for Antioch at the end of 1106 and became Lady of Tarsus

Tarsus (city)

Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...

 and Mamistra

Mopsuestia

Mopsuestia , later Mamistra, is the ancient city of Cilicia Campestris on the Pyramus river located approximately 20 km east of ancient Antiochia in Cilicia .The founding of this city is attributed in legend to the soothsayer, Mopsus, who lived before the Trojan war, although...

, in Cilician Armenia. Cecile married firstly (late 1106) Tancred, Prince of Galilee

Tancred, Prince of Galilee

Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...

, Regent of Antioch, who succeeded in 1111 as Prince of Antioch

Principality of Antioch

The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...

.

While dying in 1112, Prince Tancred made Pons of Tripoli

Pons of Tripoli

Pons of Tripoli was the son of Bertrand of Tripoli, and was count of Tripoli from 1112 to 1137.Pons married Cecile of France, the widow of his mentor Tancred, Prince of Galilee and daughter of Philip I of France...

, son of Bertrand of Toulouse, promise to marry her, and Tancred gave her the fortresses of Arcicanum and Rugia as a dowry

Dowry

A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...

. They married in 1115. In 1133, Pons was besieged at his castle of Montferrand by Zengi

Zengi

Imad ad-Din Zengi was the atabeg of Mosul, Aleppo, Hama and Edessa and founder of the Zengid dynasty, to which he gave his name.-Early life:...

, atabeg

Atabeg

Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince...

of Mosul

Mosul

Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

, in 1133, and Cecile appealed to her half-brother, King Fulk of Jerusalem

Fulk of Jerusalem

Fulk , also known as Fulk the Younger, was Count of Anjou from 1109 to 1129, and King of Jerusalem from 1131 to his death...

, to come to his aid. Zengi abandoned the siege, but during a second siege in 1137, Pons was captured and killed. He was succeeded by his son with Cecile, Raymond II

Raymond II of Tripoli

Raymond II of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1137 to 1152.He was the son of Pons of Tripoli and Cecile of France. In 1137, he married Hodierna of Rethel, daughter of Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. Later that year, he succeeded his father, after Pons was killed in a battle with the army of...

. Cecile died in 1145.

Children with Pons

• Raymond II of Tripoli
  Raymond II of Tripoli
  Raymond II of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1137 to 1152.He was the son of Pons of Tripoli and Cecile of France. In 1137, he married Hodierna of Rethel, daughter of Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. Later that year, he succeeded his father, after Pons was killed in a battle with the army of...
  
  
• Philip (1126–42)
• Agnes (died before Mar 1183), married Renaud II, Lord of Marqab