The House of Plantagenet a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England.

Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gtinais and gained the County of Anjou through marriage during the 11th century. The dynasty accumulated several other holdings, building the Angevin Empire that at its peak stretched from the Pyrenees to Ireland and the border with Scotland.

In total fifteen Plantagenet monarchs, including those belonging to cadet branches, ruled England from 1154 until 1485. The senior branch ruled from Henry II of England until the deposition of Richard II of England in 1399. After that a junior branch, the House of Lancaster, ruled for some fifty years before clashing over control of England with another branch, the House of York, in a civil war known as the Wars of the Roses. After three ruling Lancastrian monarchs the crown passed to three Yorkist monarchs, the last of whom, Richard III, was killed in battle during 1485. The legitimate male line went extinct with the execution of Richard's nephew, Edward, Earl of Warwick in 1499. However an illegitimate scion, Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle, was active at the court of Henry VIII of England. Several illegitimate lines persist, including the Dukes of Beaufort.

A distinctive English culture and art emerged during the Plantagenet era, encouraged by some of the monarchs who were patrons of the "father of English poetry", Geoffrey Chaucer. The Gothic architecture style was popular during the time, with buildings such as Westminster Abbey and York Minster remodelled in that style. There were also lasting developments in the social sector, such as John of England's sealing of the Magna Carta. This was influential in the development of constitutional law. Political institutions such as the Parliament of England and the Model Parliament originate from the Plantagenet period, as do educational institutions including the universities of Cambridgeand Oxford.

The eventful political climate of the day saw the Hundred Years' War, where the Plantagenets battled with the House of Valois for control of the Kingdom of France, and the War of the Roses. Some of the Plantagenet kings were renowned as warriors: Henry V of England left his mark with a famous victory against larger numbers at the Battle of Agincourt, and Richard the Lionheart had earlier distinguished himself in the Third Crusade; he was later romanticised as an iconic figure in English folklore.

Reigns of the Plantagenet monarchs of England

Portrait

Name

From

Until

Relationship with predecessor

Henry II of England (Curtmantle)

19 December 1154

son of Empress Matilda, heir to the English throne but 6 July 1189 was usurped by his cousin, Stephen I of England.

Henry the Young King

14 June 1170

11 June 1183

coregent at age 15 onwards with his father, Henry II of England.

Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart)

3 September 6 April 1199 son of Henry II of England. 1189

son of Henry II of England. John of England 19 October 27 May 1199 Brother of issueless Richard I of (John Lackland) 1216 England.

Henry III of England

28 October 1216

16 November son of John of England. 1272

Edward I of England (Edward Longshanks)

20 November 1272

7 July 1307 son of Henry III of England.

Edward II of England

7 July 1307

25 January son of Edward I of England. 1327

Edward III of England

25 January 1327

21 June 1377

son of Edward II of England.

Richard II of England

21 June 1377

29 son of Edward, the Black September Prince and grandson of Edward 1399 III of England.