It's a Sunday in the late spring of 1152. We're in a cathedral in Puatio. There's a young

man restlessly pacing, waiting for his bride. He's 19, stocky and red-headed with pale skin and

freckles. His late father was account and his mother was for a time the Empress of Germany,

though he wouldn't guess it to look at him. He's scruffy, he's bow-legged, he can't be bothered

with pomp and ceremony, he has a wicked temper, and even when he's chilled, he's almost impossibly

restless, a fidget who can't sit still for a minute. Even waiting for his bride is probably getting

on his nerves, though he knows she's worth waiting for. This young man is Henry Plantagenet.

That name comes from his father, Jeffrey Plantagenet, who died last year. In life,

Jeffrey wore a sprig of yellow broom blossom in his hair. The plant's Latin name is Plantagenesta,

and so the Plantagenet brand was born. In 1152, Henry is one of the most eligible young

men in Western Europe. From his father, he's inherited the right to rule a big chunk of northern

and central France. Through his mother, he has acclaimed to be King of England, and now he's about

to marry Eleanor, the 28-year-old Duchess of Aquitaine. She's a great catch in her own right,

ruler of a vast province that covers pretty much the entire southwestern quarter of the realm.

Their wedding has been organised in secret and fast.

As we heard last episode, Eleanor has just divorced the French king, and she's taken

Aquitaine with her as part of the settlement. That makes her hand such a valuable prize

that noble men, including Henry's own little brother, have been out with their henchmen,

tried to kidnap her. But she's dodged them and chosen Henry. Once she escaped from the French court,

she wrote to him, asking him to ride 200 miles to her headquarters in Puatier and marry her.

Her letter reached him on April 6th. It was an offer too good to refuse. Which is why he's here

six weeks later, in her capital, her cathedral, her backyard, to seal the deal.

...