Angevin Empire under Henry II
  • Henry was born at Le Mans in north-west France on 4 March 1133.
  • His father was Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his mother Matilda, was the daughter of previous King of England.
  • In 1150–51 Henry became ruler of Normandy and Anjou, and in 1152 he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most important woman in western Europe!
  • In 1153 he crossed the sea to England to try and become King of there too!
  • He had the power to force the King of England at the time – Stephen – to give him the crown when he died. Stephen died in 1154.
  • In 1169 Henry sent troops to conquer Ireland too!
  • Henry II died as the ruler of an ‘Angevin empire’ that stretched from Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland to the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France.