Becket returned to England at Sandwich in December 1170 after six years in exile. He returned with papal authority to excommunicate the bishops who had crowned Young King Henry. The excommunicated bishops immediately rode to the Young King Henry in France to complain. Becket landed with an escort but the Kentish population turned out in his support while royal officials confronted him at the port. His armed return set in motion the events leading to his murder three weeks later.
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