The Origins of the House of Plantagenet
The Angevins (the first Plantagenets) began with Ingelgar - a renowned soldier who carved out a territory for himself in the Loire Valley. His son, Fulk the Red, became Count of Anjou by 941.

Fulk's son, Fulk the Good (941 - 960) was followed by Geoffrey Greygown (960 - 987), Fulk Nerra (987 - 1040), Geoffrey Martel (1040 - 1060) and then, after a turbulent interval, by Fulk V (1109 - 1129) who became King of Jerusalem. Geoffrey The Fair was the son of Fulk V.

In 1128, Geoffrey the Fair or Handsome, (1113 - 1151), nicknamed Plantagenet because of the sprig of broom he wore in his cap, married Matilda (1104 - 1167), the Empress Maud, Lady of the English, in 1128.

Matilda (Maude) was the daughter and heiress of Henry I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy. It was Matilda's second marriage, her first was to Henry V, Emperor of Germany (Holy Roman Emperor).

Geoffrey became Count of Anjou in 1144.

Henry I died in 1135 and his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the English throne. For nearly 20 years the rival houses of Anjou and Blois fought for control of the kingdom. Eventually, in 1153, Stephen was persuaded to acknowledge Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda (Maude) as his heir. In 1154, the boy became King Henry II - the first of the Plantagenets. He was the great-grandson of William I, The Conqueror.

Kings of England
The Plantagenet Dynasties 1154 - 1485
The Houses of Angevin, Plantagenet, York and Lancaster

House of Angevin
Henry II (1154 - 1189)
Richard 1 The Lionheart (1189 - 1199)
John Lackland (1199 - 1216)

House of Plantagenet
Henry III (1216 - 1272)
Edward I Longshanks (1272 - 1307)
Edward II (1307 - 1327)
Edward III (1327 - 1377)
Richard II (1377 - 1399)

House of Lancaster
Henry IV (1399 - 1413)
Henry V (1413 - 1422)
Henry VI (1422 - 1461, 1470 - 1471)

House of York
Edward IV (1461 - 1470, 1471 - 1483)
- (son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York)
Edward V (1483) (son of Edward IV, he was one of the Princes in the Tower))
Richard III (1483 - 1485)
- (son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York)

Edward IV''s daughter Elizabeth married Henry VII (Tudor) - House of Tudor

Click here to view the Royal Line of Succession on Wikipedia [external link].

Anjou and Angevins

(Anjou is in France. The inhabitants of Anjou are the Angevins, its capital is Angers. The Plantagenet monarchs of England were kings of English and continental territories. Some, such as Richard The Lionheart, could scarcely be counted as kings of England, their interests and presence being generally absent.)

The Houses of York and Lancaster were both offshoots of the Plantagenets. Richard, Duke of York, adopted the name in the 1460s to emphasise his superior claim to the throne.