Melisande

Queen Melisande was the daughter of Baldwin II. She married Fulk of Anjou, who became king after the death of Baldwin II and ruled from 1131 to 1143. After the death of her husband, she became the kingdom's ruler.

During her reign, Melisande undertook several building projects, including the markets of Jerusalem. Her crowning achievement was the renovation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The dedication ceremony of the refurbished church took place on the fiftieth anniversary of the Crusader conquest - July 15, 1149.

Melisande's son, Baldwin III, insisted upon assuming power when he came of age, but his mother refused to pass the crown to him; she was forced to do so only after his army laid siege to the citadel of Jerusalem, where she had barricaded herself in.