In 1154, Henry II became king of England, he was great friends with a man called Thomas Becket. Becket was a party animal, and would commonly party with the Anjou monarch.
Henry II wanted for the pope to have less power in England because he believed that his power within the country was undermining the balance of power in England. He wished to appoint Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to help him in limiting the pope's influence in England. But after Thomas had been appointed Archbishop, he had changed. He became very religious and began to greatly respect and adore the pope. Henry was furious and issued a document to Becket and the pope with demands for the reforms Henry wanted in England, as a result Becket fled England fearing for his safety. Henry did eventually convince his old ally to return to England however. Thomas Becket punished three bishops awfully in Canterbury for supporting Henry's ideas. Henry, in his frustration loudly exclaimed in his throke room," Won't someone rid me of this bothersome priest!?" This was overheard by four knights who took this statement as a command and travelled to Canterbury and murdered Becket in the cathedral.
After realising what had happened, partly by his own fault. Henry went to Canterbury to submit before the church to face consequence, he was whipped by the monks as punishment for indirectly killing the Archbishop of Canterbury. As a result of this event, Thomas Becket became a catholic saint in the church so as to honor his legacy.
So that's how Thomas Becket was murdered, basically.
It's also the 850th anniversary of his death. What's everyone's thoughts on his conflicts with King Henry II of England?
