Henry The Young King - Political Career

Political Career

The young Henry played an important part in the politics of his father's reign. On 2 November 1160, he was betrothed to Margaret of France, daughter of King Louis VII of France and his second wife, Constance of Castile, when he was 5 years of age and she was 2. The marriage was an attempt to finally settle the struggle between the Counts of Anjou and the French Kings over possession of the frontier district of the Norman Vexin, which Louis VII acquired from Henry's grandfather, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, around 1144. By the terms of the settlement, Margaret would bring the castles of the Norman Vexin to her new husband. However, the marriage was pushed through by Henry II when Young Henry and Margaret were small children, so that he could seize the castles. A bitter border war followed between the kings.

They were formally married on 27 August 1172 at Winchester Cathedral, when Henry was crowned king of England a second time, this time together with Margaret, by Rotrou, the archbishop of Rouen.

Young Henry fell out with his father in 1173. Contemporary chroniclers allege that it was due to the young man's frustration that his father had given him no realm to rule, and feeling starved of funds. The rebellion seems, however, to have drawn strength from much deeper discontent with his father's rule, and a formidable party of Anglo-Norman, Norman, Angevin, Poitevin and Breton magnates joined him. The civil war (1173–74) came close to toppling the king and he was narrowly saved by the loyalty of a party of nobles with holdings on the English side of the Channel, and the defeat and capture of the king of Scotland. Young Henry sought a reconciliation after the capture of his mother and the failure of the revolt. By the terms of the settlement, his funds were much increased and he apparently devoted most of the next seven years to the amusement of the tournament.

In November 1179, he represented his father at the coronation of Philip Augustus as associate king of France at Reims. He acted as Steward of France and carried the crown in the coronation procession. Later, he played a leading role in the celebratory tournament held at Lagny-sur-Marne, to which he brought a retinue of over 500 knights at huge expense.

The Young Henry's affairs took a turn for the worse in 1182. He fell out with William Marshal, the leader of his tournament mesnée. The unknown author of L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal suggests that Marshal's disgrace was because he had indulged in a clandestine affair with Queen Margaret. David Crouch, one of the Marshal's principal modern biographers, argues that the charge against William was actually one of lèse majesté, brought on by Marshal's own arrogance and greed. The charge of adultery was only introduced in the Life of William Marshal as a distraction from the real charges, of which he was most probably guilty. Though the Young King sent his wife early in 1183 to the French court, it was done most likely to keep her safe in the impending war with his brother, Richard, rather than because she was in disgrace.

The only child of Henry and Margaret was William, born prematurely on 19 June 1177, and dying three days later. This difficult delivery may have rendered her sterile as she had no further children.