. Henry II . during his fatherslifetime, for which precedents could be found on theContinent but not in England, is far from clear, andits ultimate results were to prove disastrous. Themost immediate result was the creation of a freshgrievance for Becket. It would seem that the pope,willing to please Henry and not knowing that theright to crown kings was a privilege of the Arch-bishops of Canterbury, had granted permission forthe Archbishop of York to crown the young Henry,or else such permission had been granted during thevacancy of Canterbury in 1162. When the news ofthe proposed coronation
. Henry II . during his fatherslifetime, for which precedents could be found on theContinent but not in England, is far from clear, andits ultimate results were to prove disastrous. Themost immediate result was the creation of a freshgrievance for Becket. It would seem that the pope,willing to please Henry and not knowing that theright to crown kings was a privilege of the Arch-bishops of Canterbury, had granted permission forthe Archbishop of York to crown the young Henry,or else such permission had been granted during thevacancy of Canterbury in 1162. When the news ofthe proposed coronation reached Becket he wroteletters to Archbishop Roger and the English bishopsin general prohibiting them from officiating, andsimilar letters were sent by the pope; but none ofthese appear to have been delivered, and on Sunday,14th June, the younger Henry was crowned atWestminster by Archbishop Roger, the Bishops ofLondon, Durham, Salisbury, and Rochester some reason the young kings wife, Margaret,. SEAL OF THE YOUNG KING HENRY ft) 1170] THE STRUGGLE WITH BECKET 91 had not been crowned with him, although a royaloutfit had been provided for her,i and she had beenordered to hold herself in readiness at Caen, wherethe queen was in residence. The omission wastaken by Margarets father, King Louis, as a deliberateinsult, and was possibly so intended; but it is farmore probable that Henry had intended her to becrowned with her husband, but had been obliged tohasten the coronation in order to avoid the publica-tion of the prohibitory papal letters. Returning to Normandy, Henry met the papalcommissioners at Falaise and agreed to accept theterms which they proposed. They then had aninterview with Becket and persuaded him to come toFreteval, where the French and English kings wereto hold a conference. On 22nd July, therefore,Thomas rode out to meet Henry. The king was inan excellent temper, and as soon as he saw the arch-bishop he pressed forward, doffing his cap and salut-ing
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