The Plantagenets

Henry II (1133-1189)
Ruled 1154-1189
Henry II was the son of Henry I's wife and heir, Matilda, and her second husband, Geoffrey 'Plantagenet', so founding the Plantagenet dynasty.
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Richard Lionheart (1157-1199)
Ruled 1189-1199
The son of Henry II, Richard spent only three months of his reign in England and was killed in battle in France.
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John (1167-1216)
Ruled 1199-1216
The youngest son of Henry II, who long plotted against his older brother Richard before succeeding to the throne, John died of dysentery while fighting French-backed rebels in October 1216.

Henry III (1207-1272)
Ruled 1216-1272
Henry came to the throne aged nine after the death of his father, King John. A council of ministers ran the government until Henry took over fully in 1236.
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Edward I (1239-1307)
Ruled 1272-1307
The son of Henry III, he had 16 children by his first wife, Eleanor of Castile. He was succeeded by his youngest son, Edward, who in 1301 was invested as prince of Wales, following the conquest of that country.
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Edward II (1284-1327)
Ruled 1307-1327
The youngest son of Edward I and the first heir to the throne to be given the title 'Prince of Wales', following his father's conquest of the country. He was forced to abdicate in favour of his teenage son, Edward III, in 1327, and died later that same year.
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Edward III (1312-1377)
Ruled 1327-1377
Edward III was 14 when his father, Edward II, abdicated in his favour in 1327. His mother, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, acted as regents for three years before Edward captured his mother and hanged Mortimer. Edward died of a stroke in 1377.
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Castle in the round >>
Time Team investigates Edward III’s castle at Queenborough, Kent.

Richard II (1367-1400)
Ruled 1377-1399
Richard was the grandson of Edward III by Edward, prince of Wales, the 'Black Prince', who died a year before he came to the throne. He was aged 10 when he succeeded Edward III, so his uncle, John of Gaunt, ruled on his behalf. Richard was force to abdicate and was probably killed by John of Gaunt's son, Henry Bolingbroke, in 1399.
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Henry IV (1366-1413)
Ruled 1399-1413
The son of John of Gaunt and cousin of Richard II, Henry 'Bolingbroke' (so named after his Lincolnshire birthplace) died aged 46 in 1399.
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Henry V (1387-1422)
Ruled 1413-1422
The son of Henry IV, Henry married Catherine, the daughter of the French king, Charles VI, and was recognised as heir to the French throne by Charles. He died one month before Charles in 1422, so was unable to inherit it.
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Henry VI (1421-1471)
Ruled 1422-1461 and 1470-71
Aged only nine months when he succeeded his father, Henry V, Henry VI saw his reign dominated by the bitter dynastic struggles of the Wars of the Roses. His Yorkist rival, Edward IV, seized the throne in 1461. Although Henry was briefly returned to power in 1470, Edward first defeated his supporters in battle and then had him murdered in 1471.
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Edward IV (1422-1483)
Ruled 1461-1470 and 1471-1483
Edward IV was the son of Richard of York, who claimed the crown for the house of York in the dynastic struggle that culminated in the Wars of the Roses. Edward seized the throne in 1461 on behalf of the Yorkists after Richard's death in 1460. Henry VI briefly took the throne back in 1470-1471 but Edward seized it back and ruled until his death of a fever at Easter 1483.
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Richard III (1452-1485)
Ruled 1483-1485
Like Edward IV, Richard was the son of Richard of York. After Edward's death, he became protector of his son and heir, who would have become Edward V. However, he had Edward and his younger brother Richard imprisoned at the Tower of London and they were never seen again. In August 1485 he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, at which Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII, won the day. Richard was the last of the Plantagenet dynasty.
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