The Revolt of the Eaglets

Thomas Becket had been murdered and the whole of Christendom accused Henry Plantagenet of the murder.
Henry was at the height of his power but beset by frustation, most of which came from his own family, for his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine hated him and had sawn discontent and resentment in their children.
When Eleanor discovered Rosamund's Bower, the secret abode of Henry's mistress Rosamuind Clifford, her hatred was so intense that she determined to destroy him.
Henry had a secret to hide. He had seduced the daughter of the King of France when she was a child and had come to England to be brought up there as she was betrothed to his son Richard. His determination to keep her had its effect on the political scene.
His sons were working against him and each other, and the King growing old, sentimentally yearning for the affection which none had to give, saw himself as an old eagle attacked by the three eaglets whom he had begotten, while the fourth on whom he had fixed his last hopes awaited the moment of his utter defeat to pluck his eyes out.