© Richard Randall

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Richard, Geoffrey, John, Matilda, Eleanor, and Joan. Henry's attempts to wrest control of her lands from Eleanor (and from her heir Richard) led to confrontations between Henry on the one side and his wife and legitimate sons on the other.

Illegitimate

Henry's notorious liaison with Rosamund Clifford, the "fair Rosamund" of legend, probably began in 1165 during one of his Welsh campaigns and continued until her death in 1176. However, it was not until 1174, at around the time of his break with Eleanor, that Henry acknowledged Rosamund as his mistress. Almost simultaneously he began negotiating the annulment of his marriage in order to marry Alys, daughter of King Louis VII of France and already betrothed to Henry's son Richard. Henry's affair with Alys continued for some years, and, unlike Rosamund Clifford, Alys allegedly gave birth to one of Henry's illegitimate children.

Henry also had a number of illegitimate children by various women, and Eleanor had several of those children reared in the royal nursery with her own children; some remained members of the household in adulthood. Among them were William de Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, whose mother was Ida, Countess of Norfolk; Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, son of a woman named Ykenai; Morgan, Bishop of Durham; and Matilda, Abbess of Barking.

Succession crisis

Henry II's attempt to divide his titles amongst his sons but keep the power associated with them provoked them into trying to take control of the lands assigned to them (see Revolt of 1173-1174), which amounted to treason, at least in Henry's eyes. Gerald of Wales reports that when King Henry gave the kiss of peace to his son Richard, he said softly, "May the Lord never permit me to die until I have taken due vengeance upon you."

When Henry's legitimate sons rebelled against him, they often had the help of King Louis VII of France. Henry the Young King died in 1183. After Henry the Young King died, there was a power struggle between the three sons that were left. Henry had wanted John to be the next king, but Eleanor favored Richard. Henry had always loved John more than any of the other sons. Geoffrey tried to overcome both John and Richard, but he was unsuccessful. A horse trampled to death another son, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany (1158–1186). Henry's third son, Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199), with the assistance of Philip II Augustus of France, attacked and defeated Henry on July 4, 1189; Henry died at the Chateau Chinon on July 6, 1189, and lies entombed in Fontevraud Abbey, near Chinon and Saumur in the Anjou Region of present-day France. Henry's illegitimate son Geoffrey, Archbishop of York also stood by him the whole time and alone among his sons attended on Henry's deathbed. His last words, according to Gerald of Wales, were “Shame, shame on a conquered king”.

Richard the Lionheart then became King of England. This was unfortunate to Henry because he had always wanted John to succeed him. He was followed by King John, the youngest son of Henry II, laying aside the claims of Geoffrey's children Arthur of Brittany and Eleanor.

Appearance

Peter of Blois left a description of Henry II in 1177: "...the lord king has been red-haired so far, except that the coming of old age and gray hair has altered that color somewhat. His height is medium, so that neither does he appear great among the small, nor yet does he seem small among the great... curved legs, a horseman's shins, broad chest, and a boxer's arms all announce him as a man strong, agile and bold... he never sits, unless riding a horse or eating... In a single day, if necessary, he can run through four or five day-marches and, thus foiling the plots of his enemies, frequently mocks their plots with surprise sudden arrivals...Always are in his hands bow, sword, spear and arrow, unless he be in council or in books."

Another contemporary, Gerald of Wales, described him thus: "A man of reddish, freckled complexion, with a large, round head, grey eyes that glowed fiercely and grew bloodshot in anger, a fiery countenance and a harsh, cracked voice. His neck was poked forward slightly from his shoulders, his chest was broad and square, his arms strong and powerful. His body was stocky, with a pronounced tendency toward fatness, due to nature rather than self-indulgence -- which he tempered with exercise."

Fiction

The assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket is the subject of the celebrated 1935 play "Murder in the Cathedral" by T. S. Eliot. A fuller account of the struggle between Henry II and Becket is portrayed in the film Becket (1964) made from the Jean Anouilh play and starring Peter O'Toole as Henry and Richard Burton as Becket.

The treasons associated with the royal and ducal successions formed the main theme of the play The Lion in Winter, which also served as the basis of a 1968 film with O'Toole reprising the role of Henry and Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 2003, the film was remade as a mini-series with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close in the leading roles.

Henry II and his sons King Richard and King John also provided the subjects of the BBC2 television series The Devil's Crown. The 1978 book of the same title was written by Richard Barber and published as a guide to the broadcast series, which starred Brian Cox as Henry and Jane Lapotaire as Eleanor.

"Book of the Civilized Man" is a poem believed to have been written in Henry's court and is the first "book of manners" or "courtesy book" in English history, representing the start of a new awakening to etiquette and decorum in English culture.

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