Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 16.
Today in 1556 Philip II became the King of Spain when his father, Charles V, abdicated. The relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Phillip started out rocky but cordial – with Philip actually wanting to marry Elizabeth so that he could keep a foothold in England after his wife Mary I had died. Marrying her sister’s husband was too much for Elizabeth, and she rejected the offer straight away.
But still, Philip took the decision that England could be used to balance the power in Europe, and defended Elizabeth to the Pope against those who wanted her declared a heretic and bastard. Her Protestantism, and support for Protestants who were rebelling against Philip’s rule in the Netherlands, as well as her support for English pirates preying on Spanish ships coming back from the New World were too much for him, and led in part to the Armada, and the on again off again war that would last several decades, until Elizabeth’s death.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Links:
The Spanish Armada Part I: A 30 Year Road to Battle
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.