Eleanor of Aquitaine & Henry II

Eleanor of Aquitaine Gallery

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After her divorce from Louis VII of France, Eleanor's eyes turned towards Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou, ten years her younger and destined to assume the English throne (his father, Geoffrey of Anjou, was one of the men Eleanor was rumored to have had an affair with). Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1153 and the two were crowned king and queen of England in December, 1154. She would bear him seven children, including five sons, until 1168 when she decided to return to Aquitaine and assume personal control of the lands. Henry was left to his own affairs (of every sort) back in England.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was not always supportive of her husband, and one might assume she would be. She aided her three sons (Henry, Richard, and John) in a rebellion against their father and in association with Philip II Augustus of France. Henry had her imprisoned for this (she was 50 years old at this point) and kept her under close control for the next fifteen years of his life - she may have only been a figurehead for the lands she possessed, but he recognized that she could be dangerous when she wanted to.

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