PHILIP II (1527-1598). King of Spain.
Letter Signed ('El Rey' - the king) as King of England, 1 page folio with address on the reverse, Hampton Court ('hamptoncurt'), 23 July 1555. To the Duke of Alva, Governor of Milan and Commander of the Imperial Forces in Italy, asking for promotion for Christobal de Soto in recognition of his services to the king in Flanders.


The text is in the fine italic hand of G[onzalo] Pérez, who has also countersigned the document. On the reverse with the address is the complete armorial royal papered seal and contemporary endorsements. A little browned, slight paper loss, not affecting the text, and some small professional repairs, but in sound and attractive condition. The text is headed with Philip's titles 'King of England and Naples and Prince of Spain, Duke of Milan'. The signature 'El Rey' is in the usual Spanish form, but it has been suggested that the elaborate calligraphic flourish at the end of the signature incorporates the initial 'P'.

Letters signed by Philip styled as King of England are rare. He arrived to marry Mary Tudor in July 1554, and maintained the style although he was never crowned. His father Charles V had created him 'king' of the Spanish possession of Naples before his arrival in England in order to increase his prestige. In July 1555, the date of this letter, Philip still hoped for an heir who might eventually unite the crowns of England and Spain. Mary, whose phantom pregnancy was well advanced, awaited the birth with Philip at Hampton Court, where the air was purer than in London. However by the beginning of August Mary was finally forced to admit that her hopes were illusory. Philip, deeply unpopular in England and anxious to return to his European campaigns, now saw no reason to remain, and left England in September, to Mary's great grief. He returned in March 1557 for three and a half months to persuade Mary to commit English troops to his war against France, which resuled in the loss of Calais. Philip spent in all no more than seventeen months in the country of which he was the titular king.

 After Mary's death at the age of forty-two Philip no longer associated himself with England, and, although he made an offer to marry Elizabeth, his hopes of securing the succession to the throne were abandoned. In 1558 he sent forth from Spain the armada whose failure was ultimately to be ruinous to his prestige.

 Gonzalo Pérez (ca 1506-1566) was Philip II's secretary and chief minister, having served in the same office under the Emperor Charles V until the latter's abdication. His illegitimate son Antonio Pérez (1540-1611) succeeded his father in the secretaryship. It has long been supposed that Antonio was the model for Don Antonio De Armado in Love's Labour's Lost.
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