On 15 April 1240 (Easter), Baldwin II was crowned emperor in Hagia Sophia. Their only known son, Philip of Courtenay, was born in 1243. However this period of relative peace for the couple was not to last. Baldwin left for the Kingdom in France by the end of 1243, intending to seek support from Louis IX of France. In his absence Marie became regent of the Empire, with Philip of Toucy as her initial co-regent. Philip was a son of Narjot of Toucy and his first wife. His mother was a daughter of Theodore Branas and Agnes of France. Baldwin was absent for several years, first staying in France and then joining Louis IX in the Seventh Crusade. He returned by 8 October 1248, the date of a charter that empowered her to mortgage his western lands in order to pay the huge debt of 24,000 hyperpers.