Mary I's Husband: Philip II of Spain

Mary I's Husband: Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain was married to Queen Mary Tudor from 1554 until her death in 1558. But he was not merely Mary's King Consort. Rather he was King of England and Ireland, and equal co-ruler with Mary. Why has this fact been removed from our history?

Philip II of Spain - the most powerful monarch of the early modern period - was married to Queen Mary Tudor from 1554 until her death in 1558. But Philip was not merely Mary's King Consort. Rather he was King of England, co-ruler with Mary. But Philip's character and central role in the English monarchy was forever blackened by anti-Catholic versions of Tudor history. 


In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer, whose ground-breaking research shows that the reign of Mary and Philip was much more than an anomalous glitch on England's journey towards Protestantism.