Henry II King of England

Henry II was born on 5 March 1133. He was also known as Henry Curtmantle, Henry FitzEmpress, and Henry Plantagenet. His mother was Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, and his father was Count Geoffrey V. From about age 14, Henry took an active part in Matilda's efforts to claim the English throne, then held by Stephen of Blois.

In 1150, King Louis VII of France made Henry Duke of Normandy. When Geoffrey V died in 1151, Henry became Count of Anjou and Maine. In 1152 he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII had recently been annulled. Through this marriage Henry became Duke of Aquitaine. He became Count of Nantes by treaty in 1158.

Following Henry's military expedition to England in 1153, Stephen agreed to a peace treaty. Henry inherited the kingdom when Stephen died in 1154 and ruled as King of England until 1189. He was the first king of the House of Plantagenet. During the early years of his reign, he restored royal administration in England, re-established hegemony over Wales, and gained full control of his lands in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

Before he was 40, Henry controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland, and the western half of France, a territory later called the Angevin Empire. At various times he also partially controlled Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany. His desire to reform the relationship between the Crown and the Church brought him into conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. The controversy continued through much of the 1160s and ended with Becket's murder in 1170.

Henry also came into prolonged conflict with Louis VII of France. Their rivalry, described in the supplied notes as a “cold war,” concerned territories in France. Henry expanded his holdings at Louis's expense, taking Brittany and moving east into central France and south toward Toulouse. Despite peace conferences and treaties, no lasting settlement was reached.

Henry and Eleanor had eight children: five sons and three daughters. Three of their sons would become kings. Their son Henry, known as the Young King, was named his father's co-ruler rather than an independent king. As the sons grew older, disputes over the future inheritance of Henry's lands increased. In 1173, the Young King rebelled against his father, joined by his brothers Richard, later king, and Geoffrey, as well as by their mother Eleanor. France, Scotland, Brittany, Flanders, and Boulogne allied with the rebels. Henry defeated the Great Revolt through military action and the work of local commanders, including men appointed for loyalty and administrative ability.

The Young King and Geoffrey rebelled again in 1183, and the Young King died during that revolt. The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for Henry's youngest son, John, later king, but Henry continued to face difficulty in satisfying his sons' demands for land and immediate power. By 1189, both the Young King and Geoffrey had died. King Philip II of France encouraged Richard's fears that Henry intended to make John king, leading to a final rebellion. Defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry withdrew to Chinon Castle in Anjou. He died there soon afterward on 6 July 1189 and was succeeded by Richard.

Henry's empire declined rapidly during the reign of John, who succeeded Richard in 1199. Nevertheless, changes made during Henry's long rule had enduring effects. His legal changes are generally considered to have helped lay the basis for English Common Law, while his interventions in Brittany, Wales, and Scotland influenced the development of their societies and systems of government.

Assessments of Henry's reign have varied. Contemporary writers Gerald of Wales and William of Newburgh, though at times unfavorable, praised his accomplishments, calling him respectively “our Alexander of the West” and an “excellent and beneficent prince.” In the 18th century, scholars portrayed him as an important force in creating an English monarchy and, ultimately, a unified Britain. David Hume called him “the greatest prince of his time for wisdom, virtue, and abilities, and the most powerful in extent of dominion of all those who had ever filled the throne of England.” Victorian-era historians were interested in the growth of Henry's empire but also concerned with his private life and his treatment of Becket. Later 20th-century historians combined British and French accounts to challenge earlier English-centered interpretations. Henry has remained of interest to academic and popular historians; Winston Churchill described him as a great king and the first great English lawgiver whose reign deeply affected English institutions.