Rival: Louis VII of France

Henry II of England (1133-1189) and Louis VII of France (1120-1180) were the Grumpy Old Men of their day, rivalries over the same woman, the same land, and always in each others' political and family business.

Louis wasn't planned to be king.  As a younger man he tended to be more bookish and religious than his older brother, and destined for a career in the Church.  After Phillip died in an accident in 1131, the responsibilities of being heir to the throne fell to Louis.  His father had him crowned at Reims by Pope Innocent III, similar to the arrangement between Henry II and the Young King.  Then, in July, 1137, Louis entered an arranged marriage with Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right.  The relationship went about how one would expect between a beautiful and high-spirited woman and a nerd who liked books and ecclesiastical arguments better than other things.  They had two daughters, Marie and Alix, but Louis preoccupied with other matters than his beautiful wife.  A young upstart Angevin count named Henry had claimed England and was solidifying his claim to Normandy.  In those days, France was a much smaller kingdom than it is today, with Normandy, Brittany, Aquitaine, Burgundy and other areas controlled by rival and sometimes hostile families.  Louis had reason to fear that Henry might not stop at the Vexin, a buffer zone between Normandy and the Ile de France, and try to come into Louis' territory altogether.  Louis also had wars and rivalries with other nobles.

The Second Crusade in 1147-1149 put the territorial wars on hold.  Louis and Eleanor both took the Cross and Louis distinguished himself in battle, but their marriage fell completely apart.  The final straw was when Eleanor adamantly wanted to help her Uncle Raymond hold on to his Crusader kingdom of Antioch and Louis decided that enough French blood and treasure had been spent on the whole worthless enterprise.  He accused Eleanor and Raymond of having an affair, but agreed to an annulment before the matter could become any more scandalous than it already was.  Eleanor would go on to marry Henry and Louis would marry Constance of Castile in 1154, just as Henry was achieving his conquest of England.  Constance would bear Louis two more daughters, Marguerite and Alys, before dying in childbirth.  This gave Henry a chance to make a dynastic move, asking for Marguerite's hand for his young son and heir, Henry, Jr., and Alys for his son Richard.  Louis agreed.  Marguerite and Young Henry were married, but Alys would have to wait many years for a marriage and family. 

In 1160, Louis married Adele of Champagne and the third time was the charm.  His son and heir, the future Phillip II Augustus, was born in 1165.  Meanwhile, Louis never missed a chance to involve himself in Henry's political and family affairs, supporting Thomas Becket in his struggles with the King of England over supremacy of the Church over secular authority, and supporting Henry's sons as they fell out with their father and each other.  By 1180, already ill and partially paralyzed, Louis had his son Phillip crowned as a junior king, the last French monarch to do so.  He died days after the ceremony in Paris and was buried in Barbeau Abbey.  His remains were moved in 1817 to the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.