Claim: Empress Matilda was the daughter of the king of England.

Henry II -LRB- 5 March 1133 -- 6 July 1189 -RRB- , also known as Henry Curtmantle -LRB- Court-manteau -RRB- , Henry FitzEmpress or Henry Plantagenet , ruled as Count of Anjou , Count of Maine , Duke of Normandy , Duke of Aquitaine , Count of Nantes , King of England -LRB- 1154 -- 89 -RRB- and Lord of Ireland ; at various times , he also controlled Wales , Scotland and Brittany . Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda , daughter of Henry I of England . He became actively involved by the age of 14 in his mother 's efforts to claim the throne of England , then occupied by Stephen of Blois , and was made Duke of Normandy at 17 . He inherited Anjou in 1151 and shortly afterwards married Eleanor of Aquitaine , whose marriage to Louis VII of France had recently been annulled . Stephen agreed to a peace treaty after Henry 's military expedition to England in 1153 : Henry inherited the kingdom on Stephen 's death a year later .   Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler , driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather , Henry I . During the early years of his reign the younger Henry restored the royal administration in England , re-established hegemony over Wales and gained full control over his lands in Anjou , Maine and Touraine . Henry 's desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket , the Archbishop of Canterbury . This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Becket 's murder in 1170 . Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII and the two rulers fought what has been termed a `` cold war '' over several decades . Henry expanded his empire , often at Louis ' expense , taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse ; despite numerous peace conferences and treaties , no lasting agreement was reached . By 1172 , he controlled England , large parts of Wales , the eastern half of Ireland and the western half of France , an area that would later come to be called the Angevin Empire .   Henry and Eleanor had eight children . As they grew up , tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge , encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II . In 1173 Henry 's heir apparent , `` Young Henry '' , rebelled in protest ; he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother , Eleanor . France , Scotland , Flanders , and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels . The Great Revolt was only defeated by Henry 's vigorous military action and talented local commanders , many of them `` new men '' appointed for their loyalty and administrative skills . Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted again in 1183 , resulting in Young Henry 's death . The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John , but Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons ' desires for land and immediate power . Philip successfully played on Richard 's fears that Henry would make John king , and a final rebellion broke out in 1189 . Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer , Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou , where he died .   Henry 's empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John . Many of the changes Henry introduced during his long rule , however , had long-term consequences . Henry 's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law , while his intervention in Brittany , Wales and Scotland shaped the development of their societies and governmental systems . Historical interpretations of Henry 's reign have changed considerably over time . In the 18th century , scholars argued that Henry was a driving force in the creation of a genuinely English monarchy and , ultimately , a unified Britain . During the Victorian expansion of the British Empire , historians were keenly interested in the formation of Henry 's own empire , but they also expressed concern over his private life and treatment of Becket . Late-20th-century historians have combined British and French historical accounts of Henry , challenging earlier Anglo-centric interpretations of his reign .