Henry II of England

Henry II
Contemporary depiction of Henry from the Gospels of Henry the Lion, c. 1175–1188
King of England
Reign	19 December 1154 – 6 July 1189
Coronation	19 December 1154
Predecessor	Stephen
Successor	Richard I
Junior king	Henry the Young King (1170–1183)
Duke of Aquitaine (jure uxoris)
Reign	18 May 1152 – 6 July 1189
Predecessor	Louis VII
Successor	Richard I
Serving with	Eleanor
Count of Anjou
Reign	7 September 1151 – 6 July 1189
Predecessor	Geoffrey Plantagenet
Successor	Richard I
Duke of Normandy
Reign	1150 – 6 July 1189
Predecessor	Geoffrey Plantagenet
Successor	Richard IV
Born	5 March 1133 Le Mans, Maine, Kingdom of France
Died	6 July 1189 (aged 56) Chinon Castle, Chinon, Touraine, France
Burial	Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou, France
Spouse	Eleanor of Aquitaine ​ ​ (m. 1152)​
Issue Detail	William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Matilda, Duchess of Saxony Richard I, King of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Eleanor, Queen of Castile Joan, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimate: Geoffrey, Archbishop of York William, Earl of Salisbury
House	Plantagenet-Angevin[nb 1]
Father	Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou
Mother	Empress Matilda

Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Fitzempress and Henry Curtmantle,^[why?][2] was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled England, substantial parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France (including Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine), an area that altogether was later called the Angevin Empire, and also held power over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany.

Henry became politically and militarily involved by the age of fourteen in the efforts of his mother, Matilda (daughter of Henry I of England), to claim the English throne, at that time held by Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois. Henry's father, Geoffrey, made him Duke of Normandy in 1150, and upon Geoffrey's death in 1151, Henry inherited Anjou, Maine and Touraine. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine brought him control of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Thus, he controlled most of France. Henry's military expedition to England in 1153 resulted in King Stephen agreeing, by the Treaty of Wallingford, to leave England to Henry, and he inherited the kingdom at Stephen's death a year later. Henry was an energetic and ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the royal lands and prerogatives of his grandfather Henry I. During the early years of his reign Henry restored the royal administration in England, which had almost collapsed during Stephen's reign, and re-established hegemony over Wales. Henry's desire to control the English Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Becket's murder in 1170. Soon after his accession Henry came into conflict with Louis VII of France, his feudal overlord, and the two rulers fought, over several decades, what has been termed a "cold war". Henry expanded his empire at Louis' expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse; despite numerous peace conferences and treaties, no lasting agreement was reached.

Henry and Eleanor had eight children. Three of their sons would rule as king, though Henry the Young King was named his father's nominal co-ruler rather than sole monarch. As his sons grew up, Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy their desires for land and immediate power, and tensions rose over the future inheritance of the empire, encouraged by Louis VII and his son Philip II, who ascended to the French throne in 1180. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled against his father; he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother. Several European states allied themselves with the rebels, and the Great Revolt was only defeated by Henry's vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them "new men" appointed for their loyalty and administrative skills. Young Henry and Geoffrey led another revolt in 1183, during which Young Henry died of dysentery. Geoffrey died in 1186. The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for Henry's youngest son, John. By 1189, Philip swayed Richard to his side, leading to a final rebellion. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon Castle in Anjou. He died soon afterwards and was succeeded by his son Richard I.

Henry's empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his son John (who succeeded Richard in 1199), but many of the changes Henry introduced during his lengthy rule had long-term consequences. Henry's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland shaped the development of their societies, histories, and governmental systems. Historical interpretations of Henry's reign have changed considerably over time. Contemporary chroniclers such as Gerald of Wales and William of Newburgh, though sometimes unfavourable, generally lauded his achievements. In the 18th century, scholars argued that Henry was a driving force in the creation of a genuinely English monarchy and, ultimately, a unified Britain. During the Victorian expansion of the British Empire, historians were keenly interested in the formation of Henry's own empire, but they also criticised certain aspects of his private life and treatment of Becket.

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