The House of Plantagenet produced some of the most famous English kings during their over 300 years on the throne from 1154 to 1485. The first eight Plantagenet kings oversaw major developments that transformed England into a powerful nation, but their reigns were also filled with conflict, rebellion, and palace intrigue. Let‘s take a closer look at the lives and legacies of these influential medieval monarchs.
Henry II (r. 1154-1189)
Henry II, the first Plantagenet king, is best known for vastly expanding royal lands and power, which came to be called the Angevin Empire. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine made him the ruler of a territory stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. Henry strengthened the monarchy, reformed the legal system, and expanded the royal court.
However, Henry clashed with the Church, most famously with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. After Becket was murdered by Henry‘s knights in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, the king performed a public act of penance. Henry also faced rebellions from his wife and sons, who resented his attempts to control the succession and his refusal to share power.
Richard I "The Lionheart" (r. 1189-1199)
Far more interested in military glory than ruling, Richard I spent only a few months of his reign in England. Most of his time was consumed with the Third Crusade against Saladin, during which he won some victories but failed to retake Jerusalem.
Richard‘s courage and military prowess earned him the epithet "Lionheart," but his neglect of his kingdom and constant need for money to fund his wars made him unpopular with his subjects. After Richard died of a battle wound in 1199, his younger brother John took the throne.
John (r. 1199-1216)
Depicted as a villain by later chroniclers and in the Robin Hood legends, John is often called "Bad King John" for his cruelty, pettiness and military failures. He lost Normandy and most of the Angevin lands to the French king Philip Augustus, and his attempts to raise funds for campaigns to retake these territories strained his relationship with his barons.
In 1215, the barons rose up in rebellion against John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which placed limits on the king‘s power and established the principle that everyone, including the monarch, was subject to the rule of law. But both sides failed to abide by the agreement, leading to the First Barons‘ War. John died of dysentery in the midst of the conflict, leaving his 9-year-old son Henry III to inherit the crown.
Henry III (r. 1216-1272)
One of the longest-reigning English kings, Henry III assumed the throne as a child and only began to rule personally in 1227. He sought to reassert royal authority and make peace with the barons, but his lavish spending, unpopular Poitevin relatives and half-brothers, and failed policies gradually eroded his support.
Henry‘s plan to fund a conquest of Sicily for his son Edmund led to a Great Council of barons to impose the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, which limited the king‘s power. Henry later renounced the Provisions, leading to the Second Barons‘ War in 1264-67. The baronial faction was initially successful, but Henry ultimately defeated his opponent Simon de Montfort.
Despite his political troubles, Henry was a cultured man who patronized arts and architecture. He rebuilt Westminster Abbey and other royal residences in the Gothic style, and his court was a center of learning and literature.
Edward I "Longshanks" (r. 1272-1307)
A formidable military leader, Edward I reasserted royal power and expanded his kingdom through brutal conquests in Wales and Scotland. He also reformed the legal system, strengthening the role of Parliament and the common law courts. However, Edward is also remembered for expelling all Jews from England in 1290.
Edward waged continual wars to subdue Scottish resistance, led by figures like William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. His determination earned him the nickname "Longshanks" for his tall stature, but the costly wars left the kingdom in debt. Edward died en route to yet another campaign against the Scots in 1307.
Edward II (r. 1307-1327)
Unlike his warlike father, Edward II was a weak ruler who relied heavily on unpopular favorites like Piers Gaveston. His disastrous defeat by the Scots at Bannockburn in 1314 and enduring famine and unrest made Edward increasingly despised.
Edward clashed repeatedly with his barons and his French wife Isabella. In 1326, Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer invaded England, forcing Edward to abdicate in favor of his 14-year-old son, Edward III. The deposed king was imprisoned and probably murdered at Berkeley Castle in 1327.
Edward III (r. 1327-1377)
Edward III restored political stability and transformed England into a military power during his 50-year reign. After overthrowing Mortimer in 1330, he reorganized the government and rallied the nobility to his cause.
In 1337, Edward claimed the French crown and launched what became the Hundred Years‘ War. The English won resounding victories at Sluys, Crecy, and Calais under Edward and his son Edward the Black Prince. Edward was also an avid patron of chivalry, founding the Order of the Garter.
However, the devastation of the Black Death in 1348-49, which killed a third of England‘s population, and Edward‘s declining health cast a shadow over his later reign. His death in 1377 left the succession in doubt and ushered in a period of political strife.
Richard II (r. 1377-1399)
The grandson of Edward III, Richard II came to the throne as a boy and was challenged by the Peasants‘ Revolt in 1381. Though he bravely confronted the rebels, Richard became increasingly absolutist and intolerant of any limits on royal power.
Richard‘s reliance on a small group of courtiers, his peace policy with France, and his confiscation of Lancastrian estates belonging to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke aroused widespread opposition. While Richard was away in Ireland in 1399, Bolingbroke returned from exile, rallied his supporters, and had himself declared King Henry IV. Richard was forced to abdicate and died in captivity the following year, beginning the Lancastrian dynasty.
The first eight Plantagenet kings left an indelible mark on England through their legal and government reforms, military victories and defeats, and cultural and artistic patronage. Their reigns saw Parliament‘s increasing importance, the growth of the common law, the start and end of the Crusades, and the ravages of the Black Death. Though their dynasty ended in 1399, the Plantagenets laid the foundations of the English nation-state that would emerge under the Tudors in the 16th century.
