Stephen of Perche, chancellor of Sicily, archbishop of Palermo

The son of the count of Perche, Stephen was the cousin of Margaret of Navarre, the wife of William I and mother of William II of Sicily. After William I’s death in 1166, and following the conflicts between the factions in the court at Palermo, the queen sought to solve the friction by inviting her French cousin to become chancellor of the kingdom (and archbishop of Palermo). But the rebellion of the feudal barons and the prelates became even more relentless, to the extent that shortly afterwards, in 1168, Stephen was obliged to flee from Sicily.