Philip II, born 1165, was the son of King Louis VII and became King of France in 1180 when his father died.

In 1190, Philip along with Richard I of England and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa, embarked on the Third crusade as comrades in arms but at some point during the journey they quarreled. Philip returned to France a year later whilst the French army remained in Outremer under the command of Hugues III, duke of Burgundy.

Allying himself with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and Richard's brother, John, he set about claiming Richard's territories in France as his own. In 1194, after returning from the crusades, Richard set off on a new campaign retaking all the territories that had been seized by Philip during his absence. By the time of Richard's death in 1199, most of his territory had been regained.

When John became king of England after his brother