Philip II succeeded his father Louis VII the Younger at the age of 15. From then on, he fought against his tutors in Flanders and Champagne, and thus made it possible to enlarge the royal domain. In 1189, he left for the third crusade alongside Richard the Lionheart and Frederick Barbarossa. Very ill, the king must return to France. He then took the opportunity to get his hands on the English possessions in the kingdom of France. But Philippe must soon face a long struggle against his rival, who has returned from the Crusades. The conflict is revived with the death of Richard Coeur de Lion. Philippe then takes advantage of the errors of the English king Jean Sans Terre. The victory of Bouvines (1214) allows the Capetian monarchy to find a hitherto unequaled power. Philippe's reign was also marked by the embellishment of the French capital and by numerous administrative reforms.
Louis VII the Younger Louis VIII the Lion
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