27. The Plantagenet Dynasty’s Founder Spent Years Fighting His Own Family
King Henry II (1133 – 1189) was probably England’s most transformative monarch. His reign, from 1153 to 1189, saw the laying of some of the basic governmental and judicial foundations that have shaped England ever since. It is remarkable that Henry managed to do so much to instill order throughout his realm, considering the disorder and chaos that surrounded his personal life. The king transformed England despite having to spend years fighting his own family, who raised repeated rebellions against his rule.
Henry was born to Matilda, daughter of England’s King Henry I, and Geoffrey the Fair, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy. Henry became ruler of Anjou and Normandy following his father’s death in 1151. The following year, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, Europe’s greatest heiress, and added her duchy to his holdings. When he succeeded to the English throne in 1154, Henry became Europe’s greatest monarch, ruling what came to be known as the Angevin Empire. Its territories stretched from the Scottish border to the Spanish Pyrenees.
