Henry II, King of England, was born at LeMans, Normandy, March 5, 1133. The son of Count Geoffrey Plantagent of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England.
He was to young to play any part in his mother's unsuccessful war with her cousin Stephen for the English crown.
In 1150, Henry became Duke of Normandy and, on his father's death in 1151, Count of Anjou.
In 1152, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine and so acquired the duchy of Aquitaine.
When Henry became King of England, at Stephen's death in 1154, he ruled over one of the most extensive realms in western Europe, and in 1171 he was accepted as Lord of Ireland.
The early years of his reign he spent in bringing order out of the chaos of Stephen's misrule, in re-establishing the royal power, and in recovering the northern English countries from the Scots.
Henry's later years were largely taken up with the squabbles of his four sons, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John, over power in France.
His greatest achievement were the drawing up of laws and the organizing of courts to administer them; by this means he reduced the power of the barons and kept stern and efficient order.
Possessed of amazing vigor, of a violent temper not always under control, of a passion for hunting, and of a real love for learning, he gave England peace and more justice than the country had previously known.
Broken by the attacks of his sons, he died on July 6, 1189, at Chinon, France.
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