Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain (21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was, starting in 1556, king of Spain, and Burgundy, Netherlands, Naples, Sicily, and Spanish America. He was born in Valladolid and was the only son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his wife to live until he was an adult. He was strongly Catholic.

His rule was filled with troubles since his war against the Dutch Republic was expensive and unsuccessful, and his Spanish Armada was defeated and destroyed, which caused him to be harsh to his subjects.

Childhood 
For the first seven years of his life, Philip moved between different castles with his mother. In 1534 he moved into a private house in Salamanca to start his schooling. His mother died in 1539 and he took her body to Granada, where his great-grandparents Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella were buried. He left Spain in 1547 and moved to the Netherlands, where his father's family was from. His father wanted him to become more European but the people there thought he was too cold and serious.

Marriages and children 
 He married his cousin, Maria of Portugal, in (1543), They were both 16 years old. She gave him a son, Don Carlos of Spain (1545-1564) but died a few days later.
 Philip wanted to marry an English queen, Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was Protestant.  He did not marry her, as she wasn't catholic and she also rejected his proposal as he caused her to execute her dad Mary, Queen of Scots.
 Instead, he married her Catholic half-sister, Queen Mary I of England in 1554.  The marriage made him King Consort while she lived.  Her people did not like the marriage, and Philip saw it only as a political move.  On January 16, 1556, Philip became King of Spain when his father gave up the throne, but Philip chose to stay out of the country until his father died, two years later. Mary died in 1558 without children.
 Philip believed his son, Don Carlos had planned his death, so he put Don Carlos in jail. The prince died soon after, so Philip's enemies said that he had ordered someone to kill him. Some evidence shows this, but it was probably too much eating and drinking that killed Don Carlos.

Titles/styles/honors

Phillip II obtained most of his titles from his parents, he had obtained some other titles to like King of Portugal

In Castile he was: King of Castile, Leon, Grenada, Toledo, Seville, Cordoba, Murcia, Jaen, Algarves, Gibraltar, Algeciras, Canary Islands, of the Indias, the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea, and Lord of Molina.

In Aragon he was: King of Aragon, Majorca, Menorca, Sardinia and Corsica, Naples, Sicily, Valencia, Navarre, Jerusalem, Margrave of Oristano, Count of Goceano, Count of Barcelona, Count of Roussillon, Count of Cerdanya, Duke of Athens, Duke of Neopatria.

In Portugal he was: King of Portugal, either side of the sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea and of Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India, etc.

In England he was: King of England and France (titular) and Ireland.

Hapsburg Titles: Duke of Milan, Imperial vicar of Siena, Archduke of Austria, Princely Count of Habsburg and of Tyrol, Prince of Swabia.

In Burgundy: Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Lothier, of Brabant, of Limburg, of Luxemburg, of Guelders. Count of Flanders, of Artois, of Hainaut, of Holland, of Zeeland, of Namur, of Zutphen. Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord of Frisia, Salins, Mechelen, the cities, towns and lands of Utrecht, Overyssel, GroningenCount Palatine of Burgundy from 10 June 1556; Count of Charolais from 21 September 1558
Duke of Burgundy
Dominator in Asia, Africa

Honours
Knight of the Golden Fleece: 1531 – 13 September 1598
Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece:[75] 23 October 1555 – 13 September 1598
Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
Grand Master of the Order of Alcantara: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
Grand Master of the Order of Santiago: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
Grand Master of the Order of Montesa: 8 December 1587 – 13 September 1598

References 
 Der Traum Philipps des Zweiten (English: The Dream of Philip II). 'Edgar Maas'

1527 births
1598 deaths
Kings and Queens of Spain
Kings and Queens consort of England
Counts and countesses of Flanders
Kings and Queens of Portugal