Philip II of Spain was a major patron of the arts, best known for his magnificent palace and royal mausoleum at the Monastery of San Lorenzo of El Escorial. How

With its selection as the court of the Spanish Habsburgs, Madrid became the de facto capital of a global empire, a place from which momentous decisions were mad

Reassesses King Philip II's reputation as narrow-minded tyrant, describes the major events of his reign, and presents a more rounded depiction of his personalit

Philip II is not only the most famous king in Spanish history, but one of the most famous monarchs in English history: the man who married Mary Tudor and later

The image of Philip II (1527-98) as stern and assiduous defender of his political inheritance and of the catholic faith is tempered and enriched by the image of