Henry II: [Henry brings candles into the dungeon] What we do in dungeons needs the shades of day. I stole the candles from the chapel. Jesus won't begrudge them and the chaplain works for me.

Henry II: Geoffrey: There's a masterpiece. He isn't flesh: he's a device. He's wheels and gears. And Johnny: Was his latest treason your idea? I've caught him lying, and I've said, 'he's young.' I've found him cheating, and I've said, 'he's just a boy.' I've watched him steal and whore and whip his servants, and he's not a child; he's the man we made him.
Eleanor: Don't share John with me. He's your accomplishment.
Henry II: And Richard's yours. How could you send him off to deal with Philip?
Eleanor: I was tired. I was busy. They were friends.
Henry II: Eleanor, he was the best, and from the cradle on you cradled him. I never had a chance.

Henry II: I found out the way your mind works and the kind of man you are. I know your plans and expectations - you've burbled every bit of strategy you've got. I know exactly what you will do, and exactly what you won't, and I've told you exactly nothing. To these aged eyes, boy, that's what winning looks like!

Henry II: I have an offer for you, my dear.
Eleanor: A deal? A deal? I give the richest province on the continent to John for what? You tell me, mastermind, for what?
Henry II: Your freedom.
Eleanor: [softly] Oh.
Henry II: Once Johnny gets the Aquitaine, you're free, I'll let you out. Think. On the loose in London, winters in Provence, impromptu trips to visit Richard anywhere he's killing people. All that for a signature.

Henry II: I haven't kept the Great Bitch in the keep for ten years out of passionate attachment.

Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.
Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

Henry II: I want to reach a settlement. I left you with too little earlier,
Philip II: Yes, nothing is too little.

Henry II: I'm villifying you for God's sake - pay attention!

Henry II: I've snapped and plotted all my life. There's no other way to be alive, king, and fifty all at once.

Henry II: In my time I've known contessas, milkmaids, courtesans and novices, whores, gypsies, jades, and little boys, but nowhere in God's western world have I found anyone to love but you.