Explain how Henry II quickly established himself as a secure and powerful king of England?

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Explain how Henry II quickly established himself as a secure and powerful king of England? Henry II used many different techniques and strategies to establish himself as a powerful king of England. Firstly, Henry was already a powerful man even before he became King of England. He inherited a huge section of France including Normandy and Anjou, as well as receiving Aquitaine when he married Eleanor. This huge amount of land that was under his controlled was known as the Angevin Empire, this land meant that Henry wasn’t going to be just King of England but also lord of half of France. This meant that he had immense power which could have intimidated the people that were willing to threaten his rule. As well as his power being something to fear, his power could also have been respected because he was so powerful he was able to keep half of France under control before he became king of England. This shows that he was a very capable leader, with lots of experience which would have aided him in getting a fast and secure kingdom easily. Henry had several advantages that came with becoming King of England, England had well established laws and customs that were in place, despite them being under strain through Stephens reign, they were still in place and waiting to be used. Henry’s own character traits could have been an additional factor that led to Henry being able to establish himself quickly in England. He was a very intelligent, witty and well liked man. People would have trusted him and liked him because of his personality and because he spent the first few years of his reign trying to straighten out the mess that Stephen had left behind and restore the support of the people in the monarchy. Henry spent the first year of his reign settling disputes and grievances that the people of England had. Through this he gained the title “Henry the Peacemaker” but more
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