Henry himself was so far vanquished by the reaction in Becket's favor,
that he gave up any further attempt to formally enforce the
Constitutions of Clarendon (S165), by which he had hoped to establish
a uniform system of administration of justice. But the attempt,
though baffled, was not wholly lost; like seed buried in the soil, it
sprang up and bore good fruit in later generations. However, it was
not until near the close of the reign of George III (1813) that the
civil courts fully and finally prevailed.

171. The King makes his Will; Civil War.

Some years after the murder, the King bequeathed England and Normandy
(SS108, 159) to Prince Henry.[1] He at the same time provided for his
sons Geoffrey and Richard. To John, the youngest of the brothers, he
gave no territory, but requested Henry to grant him several castles,
which the latter refused to do. "It is our fate," said one of the
sons, "that none should love the rest; that is the only inheritance
which will never be taken from us."

[1] After his coronation Prince Henry had the title of Henry III; but
as he died before his father, he never properly became king in his own
right.

It may be that that legacy of hatred was the result of Henry's unwise
marriage with Eleanor, an able but perverse woman, or it may have
sprung from her jealousy of "Fair Rosamond" and other favorites of the
King.[1] Eventually this feeling burst out into civil war. Brother
fought against brother, and Eleanor, conspiring with the King of
France, turned against her husband.