of the island. There too he gambled and fell in with criminals, so that the queen was forced to order him to leave the island and go to Montescaglioso. First revolt and imprisonment (1167–68) In the summer of 1167, Henry returned to Palermo in order to obtain a part in the government of the whole kingdom. According to Falcandus, he went at the instigation of his friends, who thought that he, as a royal prince, deserved the highest secular office, the chancellorship, then occupied by Richard, Count of Molise. By the summer Stephen du Perche, his and Margaret's cousin, had replaced Richard. Stephen quickly befriended Henry, but some "Spanish knights" (milites hispanos), Henry's entourage who had travelled with him from Navarre, accused the chancellor of having an affair with the queen. Henry was not so easily persuaded, as Falcandus records: He responded that he was ignorant of French, which was most necessary at court, and that his experience was not sufficient; that he should commit to the government of the chancellor, who was wise and prudent, as well as noble, despite his affair with the queen. Stephen and Henry appear to have been the leaders, willingly or unwillingly, of two opposed court factions seeking to dominate the regency. Eventually the rumours of incest convinced the count of Montescaglioso to act. He initially accused the chancellor before the king, his nephew, but to no effect. Soon a conspiracy against the detested Stephen had drawn him in. On 15 December 1167, when Stephen had the court moved temporarily to Messina, Henry remained at Palermo to lead the conspirators, whose ranks included Matthew of Ajello, the gaito or judge Richard and Bishop Gentile of Agrigento. When the court returned to Palermo shortly after 12 March 1168, its last session in Messina, Henry demanded, in council, the Principality of Taranto, which had been confiscated from Simon, an illegitimate son of Roger II, and all of Simon's other lands. Then, Gilbert, Count of Gravina, another cousin of Henry and Margaret, rose in council, denounced the count and accused him of treason. The charge was easily established, as Henry had admitted the conspiracy to a judge of Messina a short time before. He was promptly arrested and interned in Reggio di Calabria, while the "Spanish knights" who had accompanied him were given a day to leave Sicily, which they did. Second revolt (1168) After Henry's imprisonment,