Coronation of the Young King

June 14, 1170

Henry II had his fifteen-year-old son crowned king of England during his own lifetime - partly to ensure the succession, partly to provoke Becket, who as Archbishop of Canterbury alone had the right to crown. The Archbishop of York officiated instead. Becket excommunicated him. The coronation created the anomaly of two living kings of England and poisoned relations between father and son for the remaining thirteen years of the young king's life.