Henry II of England – The Jailer of Queens
The Marriage of Two Titans
The tombs of Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, who he imprisoned.
Candidate Number Four in the Medieval Misogyny Series
When Henry of Anjou (later Henry II, also known as Henry Plantagenet) married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, they created a political alliance of breath taking scale. Henry was heir to the English throne; Eleanor, just divorced from King Louis VII of France, brought with her the duchy of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most independent regions in Europe.
For a time, their marriage was a true partnership. Eleanor rode beside Henry on campaign, governed Aquitaine in his name, and bore him eight children. Together, they forged the Angevin Empire stretching from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees.
But power and passion soured into mistrust. By the 1170s, the marriage had collapsed into open hostility.
Imprisoning a Queen
In 1173, Henry’s sons — Henry the Young King, Richard, and Geoffrey — rose in rebellion against their father. Eleanor, long alienated by Henry’s affairs and his centralisation of power, threw her support behind her sons.
Henry responded with fury. When Eleanor attempted to flee Aquitaine in disguise, she was captured. The queen of England was now Henry’s prisoner.
For the next sixteen years, Eleanor lived in confinement, moved between castles in England. At first, she was kept under close guard; only in later years did her captivity ease, allowing her to attend major court occasions. But she remained under her husband’s control, unable to exercise her rights as duchess of Aquitaine or as queen.
It was a stunning act: a king imprisoning a queen consort — and one of the most powerful women of the age.
Control Over Other Royal Women
Henry’s domination extended beyond Eleanor. His daughter-in-law, the Young Queen, Marguerite of France (married to Henry the Young King), also found herself under his thumb. When tensions rose between father and son, Henry ordered Marguerite confined, separating her from her husband. Though not a long-term imprisonment like Eleanor’s, it reflected Henry’s ruthless control of women’s movements for political gain.
A Queen’s Resilience
Despite her captivity, Eleanor did not break. Contemporary chroniclers describe her frustration, her silencing, but also her enduring influence. When Henry died in 1189, Eleanor emerged immediately from confinement, aged around 67, to act as regent for their son Richard I.
For the next decade, she wielded power with unmatched skill: negotiating Richard’s ransom from Germany, arranging dynastic marriages, and later guiding John’s troubled accession. Her political career outlasted Henry’s and secured her reputation as one of the most formidable women of the Middle Ages.
Why He’s a Villain
Imprisoned his wife for 16 years to suppress her authority.
Controlled royal women (like Marguerite of France) to enforce obedience.
Undermined female autonomy even within his own family.
Eleanor’s Legacy
Eleanor’s resilience shines brighter against Henry’s cruelty. While he sought to silence her, she re-emerged as regent, patron, and matriarch. She outlived him by fifteen years, and in the long memory of history, her voice has proven louder.
Closing Thought
Henry II’s genius as a ruler is undeniable. Yet behind the legal reforms and conquests lies the truth that he treated the women closest to him as obstacles to be subdued.
Was Henry worse than Matthew, who kidnapped a nun, or Philip, who humiliated his queen? The answer may depend on whether you judge cruelty in the private chamber as heavily as violence on the battlefield.
Final post in this series: a round-up of all five villains — and your chance to vote for the worst.