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The Plantagenets 1154 - 1216

Governments throughout history have liked to give the impression that they are in control. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, evil king Claudius has to hurriedly send Hamlet to England, but he makes sure to give the impression of having planned the journey for some time. The accession of Henri Fitzempress Plantagenet, who was to become the first of the Plantagenet kings is a very similar story.

Henri, the son of the Count of Anjou, knew that King Stephen of England, a pleasant but weak man, was deeply unpopular. It was also clear that Henri had a legitimate claim to the English throne through his mother Matilda, daughter of the former English king, Henry the First. Plans to press his claim still lay in the future when in 1153 Henri boarded a ship in Normandy intending to sail along the coast. A sudden storm blew his ships helplessly out to sea and across the channel. Henri found himself landing on an English beach, probably in Dorset. Not wanting to show weakness the pretender to the English throne made out that his landing was all part of a bold plan. Henri hastily gathered forces around him, and a deal was struck where Henri would take over once King Stephen died. In this way Henri became Henry the Second in 1154. The flag of the Plantagenets featured three lions,and those lions remain associated with England to this day. It is three French Plantagenet lions that adorn England football shirts.

Henry the Second was an energetic king who spent a great deal of time travelling around his kingdom. Some of the tensions of his reign are revealed at the remarkable polygonal Orford Castle in Suffolk. This castle seems to protect the kingdom against invasion from the sea. In reality it was protecting the kingdom against invasion by mercenaries hired by rebellious East Anglian barons. Henry also struggled with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket over control of the church. In 1170 some careless words from Henry led to Becket being murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. Pilgrims began flocking to Canterbury after Becket was canonised in 1172. The usual pilgrimage route followed Becket's last journey: the archbishop had preached at Southwark Cathedral before travelling to Canterbury; so Southwark Cathedral became the traditional starting point for pilgrimages. The Eastbridge Hospital founded to provide accommodation for the poorer pilgrims once they reached Canterbury still survives, and can be visited in Canterbury High Street.

Henry had five sons and three daughters with his wife Elienor de Aquitaine, and a dozen illegitimate children with a number of women, including the fiance of his son Richard. Perhaps unsurprisingly Father and sons did not get on. Henry spent his last years fighting wars with Richard.

Statue of Richard the First outside the Houses of Parliament

In 1189 Henry was succeeded by Richard, known as Coeur de Lion, or "Lion Heart". Richard spent ten years as king, and was only in the country for six months. The rest of the time he was away fighting ridiculous crusades in the Holy Land, struggling to engage with elusive enemies, and starting battles with allies to ease the frustration. The Trip to Jerusalem inn where some of Richard's knights and men at arms found accommodation still exists below Nottingham Castle. Nottingham was one of Richard's favourite castles, which he took from his brother Jean Sans Terre, using siege tactics in 1194.

In 1199 Richard was succeeded by Henry the Second's youngest son Jean Sans Terre, known as King John. John has a reputation as an evil king, due in no small part to his portrayal by Shakespeare. Whether he was really any worse than his contemporaries is debatable, but he had a talent for making enemies. He drove the country's barons to a famous revolt which resulted in the Magna Carta, a document which for the first time in English legal history stated that the king's power could be limited by written law. In some quarters the Magna Carta is considered the origin of civil liberties. The Magna Carta was signed in a meadow called Ranimed, or Runnymede near Windsor in June 1215., where a memorial now stands. Four copies of the Magna Carta survive, one of which is on permanent display in the British Library's galleries in London.