Eleanor of Aquitaine in the context of "Henry the Young King"

Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion (Old Norman French: Quor de Lion) because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.

By the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard was an important Christian commander during the Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France. Despite achieving several victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, he was ultimately forced to end his campaign without retaking Jerusalem.

John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document considered a foundational milestone in English and later British constitutional history.

John was the youngest son of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was nicknamed John Lackland (Norman: Jean sans Terre, lit. 'John without land') because, as a younger son, he was not expected to inherit significant lands. He became Henry's favourite child following the failed revolt of 1173–1174 by his brothers Henry the Young King, Richard, and Geoffrey against their father. John was appointed Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. During the reign of his brother Richard I, he unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richard's royal administrators while the King was participating in the Third Crusade, but he was proclaimed king after Richard died in 1199. He came to an agreement with Philip II of France to recognise John's possession of the continental Angevin lands at the peace treaty of Le Goulet in 1200.

Among the people who have borne Carolingian Counts the title of Count of Poitiers (French: Comte de Poitiers, Latin: Comes Pictaviensis; or Poitou, in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are:

• Bodilon
• Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon
• Hatton (735–778)
• Bernard I [fr] (814–828)
• Renaud (795–843)
• Bernard II (840–844)
• Emenon or Emeno (828 – 839), brother of Bernard II
• Ranulph I (839–866)
• Ranulph II (866–890), son of Ranulph I
• William I, Duke of Aquitaine
• William II, Duke of Aquitaine
• Ebalus (or Ebles Manzer) (890–892) (illegitimate son of Ranulph II) (first reign– 890–893) (second reign– 902–935)
• Aymar (892–902) (son of Emenon)
• Ebalus (or Ebles Manzer) (restored) (902–935)
• William III (935–963)
• William IV (963–995)
• William V (969–1030)
• William VI (1030–1038)
• Odo (Eudes) (1038–1039)
• William VII (1039–1058)
• William VI (1058–1086)
• William VII (1071–1126)
• William VIII (1099–1137)
• Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine
  • Louis VII of France (1137–1152) obtained title through marriage to Eleanor
  • Henry II of England (1152, 1156–1189) obtained title through marriage to Eleanor
• William, styled Count of Poitiers (1153–1156) son of Eleanor and Henry II of England
• Richard I (1169–1196) son of Eleanor and Henry II of England
• Otto (1196–1198)
• Richard I again (1198–1199)
• Richard II (1224) younger brother of Henry III of England
• Alphonse I (1220–1271) son of Louis VIII of France
• Philip I (1293–1322)
• John I (1319–1364)
• John II (1340–1416) son of John I
• John III (1398–1417) son of Charles VI of France
• Charles (1403–1461)
• Francis (r. 1695–1715)

Henry II ( (1133-March-05) (1189-July-06)5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled England, substantial parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France (including Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine), an area that was later called the Angevin Empire, and also held power over Scotland for a time and the Duchy of Brittany.

Henry was the eldest son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. By the age of fourteen, he became politically and militarily involved in his mother's efforts to claim the English throne, at that time held by her cousin Stephen of Blois. Henry's father made him Duke of Normandy in 1150, and upon his father's death in 1151, Henry inherited Anjou, Maine and Touraine. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine brought him control of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Thus, he controlled most of France. Henry's military expedition to England in 1153 resulted in King Stephen agreeing, by the Treaty of Wallingford, to leave England to Henry; he inherited the kingdom at Stephen's death a year later.

The Angevin Empire (/ˈændʒɪvɪn/; French: Empire Plantagenêt) was the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wales, and claiming overlordship and some influence over the remaining parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It may be described as an early example of a composite monarchy. The empire was established by Henry II of England, who succeeded his father Geoffrey as duke of Normandy and count of Anjou (from the latter of which the term Angevin is derived). Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, acquiring the Duchy of Aquitaine, and inherited his mother Empress Matilda's claim to the English throne, succeeding his rival Stephen in 1154. Although their title of highest rank came from the Kingdom of England, the Plantagenets held court primarily on the continent at Angers in Anjou and at Chinon in Touraine.

The influence and power of the Angevin kings of England brought them into conflict with the kings of France of the House of Capet, to whom they also owed feudal homage for their French possessions, bringing in a period of rivalry between the dynasties. Despite the extent of Angevin rule, Henry's son King John was defeated in the Anglo-French War (1213–1214) by Philip II of France following the Battle of Bouvines. John lost control of most of his continental possessions, apart from Guyenne and Gascony in southern Aquitaine. This defeat set the scene for further conflicts between England and France, leading up to the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), in which the Plantagenets re-established dominion over much of western, central, and northern France before losing their possessions again, this time permanently.

The Revolt of 1173–1174, sometimes referred to as the Great Revolt, was a rebellion against King Henry II of England led by three of his sons, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their supporters. The revolt lasted eighteen months and ended in failure; Henry's opponents were forced to submit and were ultimately reconciled with him.

Geoffrey II (Breton: Jafrez; Latin: Galfridus, Anglo-Norman: Geoffroy; 23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage to Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.