Henry II, King of England (1133-89). Henry was born at Le Mans, France, to Geoffrey Plantagenet and the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. In 1152 he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, bringing him considerable new lands in France. In 1153 he went to England and concluded a treaty concerning the succession with his mother's cousin, King Stephen. When Stephen died in 1154 Henry was crowned as Henry II. He was a large and powerfully built man with a keen mind and good humour. However, his temper was fierce, in one instance an angry remark ended with the brutal murder of Thomas Becket by four of Henry's knights. This clouded Henry's reign in which much was done to strengthen the power of the state above the church and the rights of the individual at law. This engraving comes from Birch's 'The Heads of Illistrious Persons of Great Britain' of 1747.