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 Britroyals

House of Angevin - King Henry II


Name: King Henry II
Father: Geoffrey, Count of Anjou
Mother: Empress Matilda
Born: March 5, 1133 at Le Mans, France
Ascended to the throne: October 25, 1154 aged 21 years
Crowned: December 19, 1154 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Eleanorof Aquitaine, Daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine
Died: July 6, 1189 at Chinon Castle, Anjou, aged 56 years, 4 months, and 1 day
Buried at: Fontevraud, France

King of England 1154–89. The son of Matilda and Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, he succeeded King Stephen (c. 1097–1154). He curbed the power of the barons, but his attempt to bring the church courts under control was abandoned after the murder of Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. The English conquest of Ireland began during Henry's reign. On several occasions his sons rebelled, notably 1173–74. Henry was succeeded by his son Richard (I) the Lionheart.

Henry was lord of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and Count of Anjou, Brittany, Poitou, Normandy, Maine, and Gascony. He claimed Aquitaine through marriage to the heiress Eleanor in 1152. Henry's many French possessions caused him to live for more than half his reign outside England. This made it essential for him to establish a judicial and administrative system which would work during his absence. His chancellor and friend, Becket, was persuaded to become archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 in the hope that he would help the king curb the power of the ecclesiastical courts. However, once consecrated, Becket felt bound to defend church privileges, and he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 1170 by four knights of the king's household.

In 1171 Henry invaded Ireland and received homage from the King of Leinster. In 1174 his three sons Henry, Richard and Geoffrey led an unsuccessful rebellion against their father.

Timeline for King Henry II

YearEvent
1154 Henry II accedes to the throne at the age of 21 upon the death of his second cousin, Stephen.
1154 Pope Adrian IV (born Nicholas Breakspear) becomes the first English Pope 1154-1159.
1155 Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Chancellor of England, a post that he holds for seven years.
1155 Pope Adrian IV issues the papal bull Laudabiliter, which gives Henry dispensation to invade Ireland and bring the Irish Church under the control of the Church of Rome.
1162 On the death of Archbishop Theobald, Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that he will help introduce Church reforms.
1164 Henry introduces the Constitutions of Clarendon, which place limitations on the Church’s jurisdiction over crimes committed by the clergy. The Pope refuses to approve the Constitutions, so Thomas a Becket refuses to sign them.
1166 The Assize of Clarendon establishes trial by jury for the first time.
1166 Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster in Ireland, appeals to Henry to help him oppose a confederation of other Irish kings. In response to the appeal, Henry sends a force led by Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, thereby beginning the English settlement of Ireland.
1168 English scholars expelled from Paris settle in Oxford, where they found a university.
1170 Pope Alexander III threatens England with an interdict and forces Henry to a formal reconciliation with Becket. However, the two of them quarrel again when Becket publishes papal letters voiding Henry’s Constitutions of Clarendon.
1170 Becket is killed in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December by four of Henry’s knights.
1171 Henry invades Ireland and receives homage from the King of Leinster and the other kings. Henry is accepted as Lord of Ireland.
1171 At Cashel Henry makes Irish clergy submit to the authority of Rome
1173 Canonization of Thomas a Becket.
1173 Eleanor of Aquitaine and her sons revolt unsuccessfully against her husband Henry II.
1174 Henry’s sons Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey lead an unsuccessful rebellion against their father
1176 Henry creates a framework of justice creating judges and dividing England into six counties
1185 Lincoln cathedral is destroyed by an earthquake.
1189 Henry dies at Chinon castle, Anjou, France