Ferdinand's education was entrusted to a Galician magnate, Count Fernando Pérez de Traba, member of the same lineage as the former knights of his grandmother, Queen Urraca, and of the tutors and defenders of his father, King Alfonso VII.

[4] In 1157 his father, King Alfonso VII died, and according of his will and the previous dispositions of the council of Valladolid of 1155, his second son inherited the Kingdoms of León and Galicia under the name of Ferdinand II; during the early months of his reign, the new monarch had to resolve his disputes with the powerful local nobles and an invasion by his brother Sancho III of Castile.

The death of his brother Sancho III in the same year and the succession of his infant son Alfonso VIII, annulled the clauses of the Treaty of Sahagún.

[6] During the minority of age of his nephew Alfonso VIII, in the Kingdom of Castile began the dispute between the Houses of Lara and Castro to exercise the regency on behalf of the child king.

[7] In 1162 Fernando Rodríguez de Castro was appointed Majordomo mayor of Ferdinand II, a position he held twice: firstly from 15 August 1162 until his dismissal on 6 September 1164 and secondly from 19 October 1165 until 15 May 1166.

The boundary troubles with Castile restarted in 1164: he then met at Soria with the Lara family, who represented Alfonso VIII, and a truce was established, allowing him to move against the Muslim Almoravids who still held much of southern Spain, and to capture the cities of Alcántara and Alburquerque.

Ferdinand II then repopulated Ciudad Rodrigo, and the Portuguese monarch, suspecting that his son-in-law was fortifying it with the purpose of attacking him in the future, sent an army commanded by his son and heir, Infante Sancho of Portugal, against that city.

Afonso I then invaded Galicia, occupying Tui and the territory of Xinzo de Limia (former fiefs of his mother), and in 1169 attacked the city of Cáceres.

In the peace signed at Pontevedra the following year, Ferdinand II got back twenty-five castles, and the cities of Cáceres, Badajoz, Trujillo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Montánchez, previously lost by León.

[9] Seeing the opportunity presented to him to add the main city of the region to his dominions at the expense of his Christian and Muslim enemies, Afonso I of Portugal an army to Badajoz in order to replace Gerardo Sem Pavor as conductor of the siege.

[c] After this donation, Fernando Rodríguez de Castro became the lord of a semi-independent principality located between the Tagus and Guadiana rivers, whose headquarters were in the city of Trujillo.

He seized the municipalities of Castrojeriz and Dueñas (both formerly lands of Teresa Fernández de Traba's first husband) before Alfonso VIII could have put these fortresses on alert, while the Castilian sovereign allied himself with Afonso I of Portugal, who sent his son, Infante Sancho, to fight against the King of León.

During his reign the Order of Santiago was founded and Pope Alexander III granted the grace of the Jacobean jubilee holy year (Bula Regis Aeterni, 1181).

To achieve her purpose, Urraca López de Haro maintained that the birth of Infante Alfonso was illegitimate, since the marriage of his parents had been annulled due to the existing blood ties between both spouses.

Ferdinand II then banished Infante Alfonso, which was a triumph for his stepmother, who made an effort to ensure that her son inherited the throne upon the death of his father.

Ferdinand II died at Benavente on 22 January 1188 aged 51, while returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and was succeeded to the throne by his eldest son, Alfonso IX of León.

[17]Contravening his wishes to be buried at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Ferdinand II was buried somewhere, possibly in the Royal Pantheon of the Kings of San Isidoro of León, since his widow, Queen Urraca, did not want to transfer the mortal remains to Santiago of Compostela, since its Archbishop, Pedro Suárez de Deza, was a supporter of King Alfonso IX.