Henry II (1133-1189) was king of England from 1154 to 1189. He restored and extended royal authority, supervised great legal reforms, and clashed with Thomas Becket.

Born on March 5, 1133, Henry II was the eldest son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of King Henry I. On her father's death Matilda failed to secure England and Normandy, but Geoffrey of Anjou conquered Normandy and in 1150 invested Henry with the duchy. On Geoffrey's death a year later Henry became Count of Anjou. To these lands he added the duchy of Aquitaine by his marriage (May 18, 1152) to Eleanor, daughter of the late duke. These lands were not independent states; they were separate fiefs of the kingdom of France, and for each of them Henry did homage to King Louis VII as his overlord. Louis, like other kings in this period, was trying to convert feudal overlordship into real authority to govern...