House of Plantagenet: 14 Kings of England, 1154-1485
The house of Plantagenet ruled England from 1154 to 1485: all 14 kings in order, the Angevin, Lancaster and York branches, and the naming dispute historians still have.
Last updated September 2026
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The house of Plantagenet held the English crown for 331 years, longer than any other royal house. It began with Henry II in 1154 and ended with Richard III at Bosworth in 1485. This page lists all 14 kings, shows the three branches, and explains why sources draw the dynasty's edges in different places.
TL;DR: Fourteen Plantagenet kings ruled England from 1154 to 1485. The main line ran from Henry II to Richard II. The cadet houses of Lancaster (1399-1461, 1470-1471) and York (1461-1485) then fought the Wars of the Roses. The dynasty ended when Henry Tudor killed Richard III at Bosworth.
The house of Plantagenet, king by king
| # | King | Branch | Reign | How it ended | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry II | Angevin | 1154-1189 | Died at Chinon | Reviewed |
| 2 | Richard I | Angevin | 1189-1199 | Died of a crossbow wound in France | Reviewed |
| 3 | John | Angevin | 1199-1216 | Died during civil war | Reviewed |
| 4 | Henry III | Plantagenet | 1216-1272 | Died | Reviewed |
| 5 | Edward I | Plantagenet | 1272-1307 | Died on campaign against Scotland | Reviewed |
| 6 | Edward II | Plantagenet | 1307-1327 | Deposed | Reviewed |
| 7 | Edward III | Plantagenet | 1327-1377 | Died | Reviewed |
| 8 | Richard II | Plantagenet | 1377-1399 | Deposed | Reviewed |
| 9 | Henry IV | Lancaster | 1399-1413 | Died | Reviewed |
| 10 | Henry V | Lancaster | 1413-1422 | Died on campaign in France | Reviewed |
| 11 | Henry VI | Lancaster | 1422-1461, 1470-1471 | Deposed twice; died in the Tower | Reviewed |
| 12 | Edward IV | York | 1461-1470, 1471-1483 | Died | Reviewed |
| 13 | Edward V | York | 1483 | Displaced by his uncle; never crowned | Reviewed |
| 14 | Richard III | York | 1483-1485 | Killed at Bosworth | Reviewed |
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How the dynasty began
The line starts with a marriage. In 1128, Henry I's daughter, Empress Matilda, married Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. Their son Henry spent years fighting King Stephen for the English crown. The Treaty of Wallingford in 1153 made him Stephen's heir, and he became Henry II the next year.
Henry II inherited a great deal. He held Anjou from his father and Normandy from his mother, and he gained Aquitaine by marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152. His lands ran from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. The Royal Family website notes that he spent only 13 years of his reign in England. His life is covered on the Henry Plantagenet page.
What the house of Plantagenet changed
The Plantagenet centuries shaped English government. Henry II sent judges on regular circuits and is often called the founder of the common law. His son John sealed Magna Carta in 1215. Parliament took shape under Henry III and Edward I.
The dynasty also fought abroad for most of its reign.
- Wales: Edward I conquered Wales in 1282-1283 and gave his son the title Prince of Wales.
- Scotland: Edward I's wars there failed to bring Scotland under English rule.
- France: Edward III began the Hundred Years' War in 1337. Henry V won at Agincourt in 1415, but England lost all its French lands except Calais by 1453.
The age also brought the Black Death in 1348-1349 and the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. English became the language of government and of writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer.
Lancaster and York: the Wars of the Roses
The main line ended in 1399, when Henry Bolingbroke deposed his cousin Richard II and became Henry IV. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, so his line is called the house of Lancaster.
The house of York descended from two other sons of Edward III. In the 1450s, Richard, Duke of York, challenged the weak rule of Henry VI. The fighting that followed, from 1455 to 1485, is known as the Wars of the Roses. York's son took the throne as Edward IV in 1461. Henry VI briefly returned in 1470-1471 before he died in the Tower of London.
Edward IV's death in 1483 led to the shortest reign of the dynasty. His son Edward V was displaced within weeks by his uncle, who became Richard III. Two years later, Henry Tudor defeated and killed Richard at Bosworth and founded the house of Tudor.
Where the dynasty begins and ends
Naming of the dynasty, 1154-1485 or 1216-1399.
Status: Disputed. Sources use different conventions.
Note: Britannica dates the house of Plantagenet from 1154 to 1485, with 14 kings, six of them from Lancaster and York. It adds that some historians call only Henry II, Richard I and John the Angevin kings, and keep "Plantagenet" for their successors. The Royal Family website splits the 14 kings into four houses: Angevin, Plantagenet, Lancaster and York. Both agree on the kings and their dates. They differ only on the labels.
Sources: Britannica, "House of Plantagenet"; The Royal Family, "The Angevins"; The Royal Family, "The Plantagenets".
This site counts all 14 kings as the house of Plantagenet and shows the branch in a separate column, so both conventions can be read from the same table.
The last Plantagenet king
Richard III died fighting at Bosworth on 22 August 1485. His body was taken to Leicester and buried in the church of the Greyfriars. In 2012, archaeologists from the University of Leicester found a skeleton under a car park on the site. DNA and other tests confirmed in 2013 that it was Richard. He was reburied in Leicester Cathedral in March 2015.
Plantagenet descendants lived on after 1485. Some were seen as threats by the Tudors, and several were executed, among them Edward, Earl of Warwick, in 1499 and Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, in 1541.
Our guide to the best books about the royal family picks eight for further reading. They cover every era from 1066 to Elizabeth II.
Verdict: the house of Plantagenet in brief
The house of Plantagenet ruled England longer than any other dynasty: 14 kings over 331 years, from Henry II to Richard III. Sources agree on the kings and the dates. They disagree only on whether to call the early kings Angevins and whether Lancaster and York count as Plantagenet. For the origin of the name itself, see the Plantagenet page, and for every monarch since 1066, the England royal family hub.
Sources checked for this page
- Britannica, "House of Plantagenet"
- The Royal Family, "The Plantagenets"
- The Royal Family, "The Angevins"
- The Royal Family, "Henry II"
- Britannica, "Wars of the Roses"
- Britannica, "Richard III"
Questions people also ask
How many Plantagenet kings were there?
Fourteen, from Henry II to Richard III. Eight belong to the main line, three to the house of Lancaster and three to the house of York.
Who was the first Plantagenet king?
Henry II, crowned in December 1154. He was the son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, whose nickname gave the dynasty its name.
Who was the last Plantagenet king?
Richard III, killed at the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485. His remains were found in Leicester in 2012 and reburied in Leicester Cathedral in 2015.
Why are Plantagenets also called Angevins?
Henry II was Count of Anjou, and 'Angevin' means 'of Anjou'. Some historians use Angevin only for Henry II, Richard I and John, and Plantagenet for the kings after them.