speech against spanish armada

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Spanish Armada

By: History.com Editors

Updated: September 6, 2019 | Original: May 2, 2018

The Spanish Armada was an enormous 130-ship naval fleet dispatched by Spain in 1588 as part of a planned invasion of England. Following years of hostilities between Spain and England, King Philip II of Spain assembled the flotilla in the hope of removing Protestant Queen Elizabeth I from the throne and restoring the Roman Catholic faith in England. Spain’s “Invincible Armada” set sail that May, but it was outfoxed by the English, then battered by storms while limping back to Spain with at least a third of its ships sunk or damaged. The defeat of the Spanish Armada led to a surge of national pride in England and was one of the most significant chapters of the Anglo-Spanish War.

Philip and Elizabeth

King Philip II ’s decision to attempt an overthrow of Queen Elizabeth I was several years in the making.

Despite their family connections—Philip had once been married to Elizabeth’s half-sister, Mary —the two royals had severe political and religious differences and had engaged in a “cold war” for much of the 1560s and 1570s.

Philip was particularly incensed by the spread of Protestantism in England, and he had long toyed with the idea of conquering the British Isle to bring it back into the Catholic fold.

Tensions between Spain and England flared in the 1580s, after Elizabeth began allowing privateers such as Sir Francis Drake to conduct pirate raids on Spanish fleets carrying treasure from their rich New World colonies.

By 1585, when England signed a treaty of support with Dutch rebels in the Spanish-controlled Netherlands, a state of undeclared war existed between the two powers. That same year, Philip began formulating an “Enterprise of England” to remove Elizabeth from the throne.

What Was the Spanish Armada?

The Spanish Armada was a naval force of about 130 ships, plus some 8,000 seamen and an estimated 18,000 soldiers manning thousands of guns. Roughly 40 of the ships were warships. 

The Spanish plan called for this “Great and Most Fortunate Navy” to sail from Lisbon, Portugal, to Flanders, where it would rendezvous with 30,000 crack troops led by the Duke of Parma, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

The fleet would then guard the army as it was ferried across the English Channel to the Kent coast to begin an overland offensive against London.

England Prepares for Invasion

It was impossible for Spain to hide the preparations for a fleet as large as the Armada, and by 1587, Elizabeth’s spies and military advisors knew an invasion was in the works. That April, the Queen authorized Francis Drake to make a preemptive strike against the Spanish.

After sailing from Plymouth with a small fleet, Drake launched a surprise raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz and destroyed several dozen of the Armada’s ships and over 10,000 tons of supplies. The “singeing of the king of Spain’s beard,” as Drake’s attack was known in England, was later credited with delaying the launch of the Armada by several months.

The English used the time bought by the raid on Cadiz to shore up their defenses and prepare for invasion.

Elizabeth’s forces built trenches and earthworks on the most likely invasion beaches, strung a giant metal chain across the Thames estuary and raised an army of militiamen. They also readied an early warning system consisting of dozens of coastal beacons that would light fires to signal the approach of the Spanish fleet.

Led by Drake and Lord Charles Howard, the Royal Navy assembled a fleet of some 40 warships and several dozen armed merchant vessels. Unlike the Spanish Armada, which planned to rely primarily on boarding and close-quarters fighting to win battles at sea, the English flotilla was heavily armed with long-range naval guns.

Spanish Armada Sets Sail

In May 1588, after several years of preparation, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. When the 130-ship fleet was sighted off the English coast later that July, Howard and Drake raced to confront it with a force of 100 English vessels.

The English fleet and the Spanish Armada met for the first time on July 31, 1588, off the coast of Plymouth. Relying on the skill of their gunners, Howard and Drake kept their distance and tried to bombard the Spanish flotilla with their heavy naval cannons. While they succeeded in damaging some of the Spanish ships, they were unable to penetrate the Armada’s half-moon defensive formation.

Over the next several days, the English continued to harass the Spanish Armada as it charged toward the English Channel. The two sides squared off in a pair of naval duels near the coasts of Portland Bill and the Isle of Wight, but both battles ended in stalemates. 

By August 6, the Armada had successfully dropped anchor at Calais Roads on the coast of France, where Medina-Sidonia hoped to rendezvous with the Duke of Parma’s invasion army.

Fireships Scatter the Armada

Desperate to prevent the Spanish from uniting their forces, Howard and Drake devised a last-ditch plan to scatter the Armada. At midnight on August 8, the English set eight empty vessels ablaze and allowed the wind and tide to carry them toward the Spanish fleet hunkered at Calais Roads.

The sudden arrival of the fireships caused a wave of panic to descend over the Armada. Several vessels cut their anchors to avoid catching fire, and the entire fleet was forced to flee to the open sea.

Battle of Gravelines

With the Armada out of formation, the English initiated a naval offensive at dawn on August 8. In what became known as the Battle of Gravelines, the Royal Navy inched perilously close to the Spanish fleet and unleashed repeated salvos of cannon fire.

Several of the Armada’s ships were damaged and at least four were destroyed during the nine-hour engagement, but despite having the upper hand, Howard and Drake were forced to prematurely call off the attack due to dwindling supplies of shot and powder.

Speech to the Troops at Tilbury

With the Spanish Armada threatening invasion at any moment, English troops gathered near the coast at Tilbury in Essex to ward off a land attack. 

Queen Elizabeth herself was in attendance and - dressed in military regalia and a white velvet gown - she gave a rousing speech to her troops, one that is often cited as among the most inspiring speeches ever written and delivered by a sovereign leader:

"I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field."

Bad Weather Besets the Armada

Shortly after the Battle of Gravelines, a strong wind carried the Armada into the North Sea, dashing the Spaniards’ hopes of linking up with the Duke of Parma’s army. With supplies running low and disease beginning to spread through his fleet, the Duke of Medina-Sidonia resolved to abandon the invasion mission and return to Spain by rounding Scotland and Ireland.

The Spanish Armada had lost over 2,000 men during its naval engagements with the English, but its journey home proved to be far more deadly. The once-mighty flotilla was ravaged by sea storms as it rounded Scotland and the western coast of Ireland. Several ships sank in the squalls, while others ran aground or broke apart after being thrown against the shore.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

By the time the “Great and Most Fortunate Navy” finally reached Spain in the autumn of 1588, it had lost as many as 60 of its 130 ships and suffered some 15,000 deaths.

The vast majority of the Spanish Armada’s losses were caused by disease and foul weather, but its defeat was nevertheless a triumphant military victory for England.

By fending off the Spanish fleet, the island nation saved itself from invasion and won recognition as one of Europe’s most fearsome sea powers. The clash also established the superiority of heavy cannons in naval combat, signaling the dawn of a new era in warfare at sea.

While the Spanish Armada is now remembered as one of history’s great military blunders, it didn’t mark the end of the conflict between England and Spain. In 1589, Queen Elizabeth launched a failed “English Armada” against Spain.

King Philip II, meanwhile, later rebuilt his fleet and dispatched two more Spanish Armadas in the 1590s, both of which were scattered by storms. It wasn’t until 1604—over 16 years after the original Spanish Armada set sail—that a peace treaty was finally signed ending the Anglo-Spanish War as a stalemate.

The Spanish Armada. By Robert Hutchinson . The Spanish Armada. BBC . Sir Francis Drake. By John Sugden . The Spanish Armada: England’s Lucky Escape. History Extra . Elizabeth's Tilbury speech: July 1588. British Library .

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Speech to the Troops at Tilbury - Aug. 19, 1588

The 1500s saw a major rivalry between Britain and Spain over control of trade in the New World. King Philip II of Spain assembled a fleet of warships known as the Spanish Armada and in 1588 sailed into the English Channel with the goal of invading and conquering England. Queen Elizabeth I is reported to have delivered an inspiring speech when she visited her troops assembled at Tilbury (Essex) as they prepared for battle. During the nine-day battle, the British ships inflicted terrible losses on the Spanish Armada. Spanish ships attempting to return to Spain encountered inclement weather and few made it back. Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Britain became the dominant world power for several centuries.

The version of the speech generally accepted as the speech that was given by Queen Elizabeth was found in a letter from Leonel Sharp (1559-1631), an English churchman and courtier, royal chaplain and archdeacon of Berkshire, to the Duke of Buckingham sometime after 1624.

My loving people

We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust.

I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.

I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you on a word of a prince, they shall be duly paid. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.

Another version of the speech was recorded in 1612 by William Leigh (1550 to 1639), an English clergyman and royal tutor.

Come on now, my companions at arms, and fellow soldiers, in the field, now for the Lord, for your Queen, and for the Kingdom. For what are these proud Philistines, that they should revile the host of the living God? I have been your Prince in peace, so will I be in war; neither will I bid you go and fight, but come and let us fight the battle of the Lord. The enemy perhaps may challenge my sex for that I am a woman, so may I likewise charge their mould for that they are but men, whose breath is in their nostrils, and if God do not charge England with the sins of England, little do I fear their force… Si deus nobiscum quis contra nos? (if God is with us, who can be against us?)

In "Elizabetha Triumphans," published in 1588, James Aske provides another version of the speech.

Their loyal hearts to us their lawful Queen.

For sure we are that none beneath the heavens

Have readier subjects to defend their right:

Which happiness we count to us as chief.

And though of love their duties crave no less

Yet say to them that we in like regard

And estimate of this their dearest zeal

(In time of need shall ever call them forth

To dare in field their fierce and cruel foes)

Will be ourself their noted General

Ne dear at all to us shall be our life,

Ne palaces or Castles huge of stone

Shall hold as then our presence from their view:

But in the midst and very heart of them

Bellona-like we mean as them to march;

On common lot of gain or loss to both

They well shall see we recke shall then betide.

And as for honour with most large rewards,

Let them not care they common there shall be:

The meanest man who shall deserve a might,

A mountain shall for his desart receive.

And this our speech and this our solemn vow

In fervent love to those our subjects dear,

Say, seargeant-major, tell them from our self,

On kingly faith we will perform it there…

Neither the Catt Center nor Iowa State University is affiliated with any individual in the Archives or any political party. Inclusion in the Archives is not an endorsement by the center or the university.

Tuesday Sep 19, 2023

Elizabeth I, Against the Spanish Armada, 1588

England's greatest Queen gives her most well-known speech, as her nation faces utter disaster with the approach of the Spanish Armada.

My loving people, we have been persuaded by some, that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear; I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects. And therefore I am come amongst you at this time, not as for my recreation or sport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you all; to lay down, for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honour and my blood, even the dust.

I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realms: to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms; I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, by your forwardness, that you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble and worthy subject; not doubting by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and by your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over the enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.

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Elizabeth I's Tilbury speech: the birth of a warrior queen

Posted 09 Aug 2019, by Estelle Paranque

As generations of schoolchildren were taught,  Elizabeth I of England  famously said 'I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.'

Elizabeth I (The Armada Portrait)

16th C, oil on oak panel by unknown artist

Although many great and sweeping statements have been attributed to influential figures in history over the years, leading experts on the last Tudor queen, including Professor Carole Levin, Professor Steven May, and Professor Janet M. Green, agree that it is very likely that she actually said these words. They are part of a longer version of a piece of rhetoric known as the Tilbury speech , delivered on 9th August 1588, which also marks the defeat of the Spanish Armada and propelled England to the top ranks of Europe's powerful navies.

Launch of Fire Ships against the Spanish Armada, 7 August 1588 c.1590

Netherlandish School

On 8th February 1587, Mary Stuart, former queen of Scots, was executed for being involved in the 1586 Babington Plot. Philip II of Spain, allied with the Guises (Mary Stuart's French family), promised to avenge her. In reality, he saw this as an opportunity to justify an attack on England, since Philip and Elizabeth had been mortal enemies for some years by this point and Spain had long been preparing for an invasion.

Preparatory Sketches of Phillip II of Spain and Elizabeth I c.1854

Richard Burchett (1815–1875) (studio of)

As news of the invasion spread, England got ready for war. Ships were built and ports were armed. The Elizabethan navy was swiftly becoming the best in Europe, attacking Spanish and French cargo ships coming from the New World and stealing their goods and gold to be brought to Elizabeth. Perhaps inevitably, the war began – as the painting below depicts.

English Ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 late 16th C

British (English) School

As the battle closed, a storm was ravaging the coast of England. English ships, smaller and more manoeuvrable, got through the tempest, while Spanish galleons, twice the size of English ships and far less manageable, were harried and capsized by the wind and the rain. English sailors and warriors saw this as an opportunity to intensify the attacks. This thorough defeat for the Spanish has been remembered for centuries, becoming the subject of a great deal of artistic expression during the period, particularly in England. The painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740–1812) is a remarkable example of this.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588 1796

Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740–1812)

England's victory was quickly portrayed as Elizabeth's victory. From her success over Spain and her mortal enemy Philip II, more and more Elizabeth was represented as a warrior queen, both artistically, in literature and in the political world of the time. In the painting below, she is portrayed rallying her troops atop a white horse, every inch the leader of Englishmen and warriors.

Queen Elizabeth I at Tilbury, 1588 c.1938

Alfred Kingsley Lawrence (1893–1975)

Elizabeth had done the impossible: defeating the 'invincible' Spanish Armada. One of the most famous portraits of her is the Armada Portrait  (seen at the top of this article, in the collection of Woburn Abbey) which was then reproduced and copied by different artists, such as the one formerly thought to be by George Gower (in the National Portrait Gallery) and the one now in the Queen's House (Royal Museums Greenwich), acquired for the nation in 2016.

Queen Elizabeth I c.1588

George Gower (c.1540–1596) (formerly attributed to)

Elizabeth I (1533-1603) (the 'Armada Portrait') c.1588

She is depicted sitting victoriously, with very strong – to not say enormous – arms to emphasise her virility and warlike image. From now on, Elizabeth was more than the Virgin Queen: she was Gloriana, and through this image of Gloriana she became a warrior queen, with a strong masculine stance.

After 1588, Elizabeth was portrayed as a dominant and powerful queen who controlled Europe. Another famous portrait of the queen, the Ditchley Portrait, shows her standing on the map of the world as a victorious monarch.

Queen Elizabeth I ('The Ditchley portrait') c.1592

Marcus Gheeraerts the younger (1561/1562–1635/1636)

She represents glory, stability, and prosperity. The artist wished to indicate that after her confident and successful rule, only chaos could happen, hence the storm clouds gathering behind her.

In this portrait by Nicholas Hilliard, exhibited at Hardwick Hall, Elizabeth also has the same strong, masculine stance portrayed in the Ditchley Portrait.

Elizabeth I (1533–1603) 1592

Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619) (studio of)

Her arms are also enormous and her hand, poised on the armrest of the royal chair, points out to her initials: Elizabeth Regina, the symbol of her monarchical authority. Most historians, such as Professor John Guy, argue that there are two reigns of Elizabeth. In many ways, 1588 and the victory over the Spanish Armada mark the beginning of the second one. Elizabeth is no longer viewed in the royal houses of Europe as a potential bride for their princes. She is Gloriana, the famous warrior queen who defeated the most powerful country of Europe at that time: Spain.

After her death, artists and commentators clung to this warrior image, which was frequently reproduced and conveyed in portraits.

Elizabeth I (1533–1603), with a Miniature Sieve late 16th C & later

This portrait, for example, is an early seventeenth-century portrait of the queen exhibited at Charlecote Park in Warwickshire. Elizabeth's strong, masculine arms remind the viewer of the Armada Portrait. Despite the dark colours of this painting, Elizabeth is depicted as Gloriana.

Moving forward in time, Riehé was a mid-nineteenth-century artist who painted a series of English monarchs, including Victoria, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth, many of which presently hang in Hull Guildhall.

Elizabeth I (1533–1603)

His depiction of the English queen is particularly masculine, looking more like a young man than a queen in her prime. All her feminine features have been masculinised. Her usual fairy wings or collar are replaced by an ornate bodice that looks more like a vest. It seems that the artist decided to paint a male version of Elizabeth to demonstrate her greatness as a ruler, which is perhaps unsurprising, given Victorian views of a woman's place in society.

The last major portrait showing Elizabeth as a warrior queen after her death is by Wilhelm Sonmans. A Dutch artist who lived at Charles II's court, Sonmans died in 1708, but during his career he painted important political figures of the seventeenth century.

Elizabeth I (1533–1603) c.1670 (?)

Wilhelm Sonmans (1650–1708)

In his portrait of Elizabeth, Sonmans decided to reproduce the strong and masculine arms earlier artists had gifted to the warrior queen. On the left top corner, her coat of arms with the lion and dragon stands out – reinforcing the image of the warrior queen, Gloriana. Her stance in this portrait reminds the viewer of the Ditchley and Armada portraits, which were likely influences.

Elizabeth I of England is one of the most famous English monarchs and the public has shown great interest in her reign. Her victory over the Spanish Armada is arguably what makes her so well known. To some extent, through this victory, Elizabeth was reborn, going from the virgin queen to a distinguished warrior queen, an image that was presented and remembered centuries after her death. One can easily claim that, true to her own words, she had 'the heart and stomach of a king.'

Estelle Paranque, historian and author

Further reading John Guy, Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years , Penguin, 2016 Peter Lake and Michael Questier, All Hail to the Archpriest: Confessional Conflict, Toleration, and the Politics of Publicity in Post-Reformation England , OUP, 2019 Carole Levin, The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power , University of Pennsylvania Press, second edition, 2013 Estelle Paranque (ed.), Remembering Queens and Kings of Early Modern England and France: Reputation, Reinterpretation, and Reincarnation , Palgrave Macmillan, 2019 Kevin Sharpe, Selling the Tudor Monarchy: Authority and Image in Sixteenth-century England , Yale University Press, 2009

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A Short Analysis of Queen Elizabeth I’s ‘Heart and Stomach of a King’ Speech at Tilbury

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Queen Elizabeth I’s speech to the troops at Tilbury is among the most famous and iconic speeches in English history. On 9 August 1588, Elizabeth addressed the land forces which had been mobilised at the port of Tilbury in Essex, in preparation for the expected invasion of England by the Spanish Armada.

The speech has become inextricably linked with Elizabeth’s reign, which is often called the ‘Golden Age’ of English power and confidence. Elizabeth’s reign was the settling of the earliest English colonies in America, the establishment of the first London theatres, the early works of William Shakespeare and John Donne, and much else.

However, how authentic is the reported text of the speech Elizabeth gave on that day, and did she really tell her loyal troops that, although she had ‘the body of a weak and feeble woman’, she had ‘the heart and stomach of a king’?

Many historians accept the speech of Elizabeth I as genuine, and believe the words quoted above have an authentic ring to them: they were delivered, and probably written, by Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth was also a somewhat gifted poet , so it should little surprise us that she had a fine turn of phrase when it came to speech-writing, too.

However, no contemporary account of the exact words used in the speech is in existence. Indeed, one of the earliest recorded versions of the speech contains quite different words from those quoted above. In 1612 a preacher named William Leigh offered this version of Elizabeth’s words:

The enemy perhaps may challenge my sex for that I am a woman, so may I likewise charge their mould for that they are but men, whose breath is in their nostrils, and if God do not charge England with the sins of England, little do I fear their force… Si deus nobiscum quis contra nos?

This final Latin phrase can be translated as ‘if God is with us, who can be against us?’

It was not until more than a decade later, in the 1620s, that the more familiar wording of Elizabeth’s speech was first written down, when Leonel Sharp included it in a letter to the Duke of Buckingham. This letter was published in 1654. In it, Sharp wrote,

The queen the next morning rode through all the squadrons of her army as armed Pallas attended by noble footmen, Leicester, Essex, and Norris, then lord marshal, and divers other great lords. Where she made an excellent oration to her army, which the next day after her departure, I was commanded to redeliver all the army together, to keep a public fast.

It is Sharp’s version of the speech that has become canonical, and many consider his to be closer to the wording that Elizabeth is likely to have used during the delivery of her speech.

But what marks both versions of the speech out is Elizabeth’s emphasis on her sex. In Leigh’s account of the speech, Elizabeth tells her English troops that the Spanish enemy may believe her to be an ineffectual ruler because she is a woman, rather than being a ‘strong’ man who can lead his troops into battle. But she responds to this hypothetical criticism by reminding her audience that the Spanish enemy are but men, who are mortal (and can therefore be killed).

In Sharp’s more famous version, the wording has become well-known, of course: ‘I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too’. In other words, Elizabeth acknowledges the fact that her body is naturally less masculine and strong than the average man’s, but it is not mere physical strength that will win the day. Instead, the ‘heart’ and ‘stomach’ are important: the strength of passion with which the men are inspired to fight to defend their country from an invading foreign force.

A key part of the quotation’s success, which is undoubtedly at least partly responsible for its fame, is the balancing of the spirit and passion (heart) with the more visceral courage and willingness to fight (stomach).

Curiously, the very first version of the speech to be recorded was in 1588, the same year as the foiled attack from the Spanish Armada. And it was in verse! James Aske published the celebratory ‘ Elizabetha Triumphans ’, which contains the words:

And this our speech and this our solemn vow In fervent love to those our subjects dear, Say, seargeant-major, tell them from our self, On kingly faith we will perform it there …

Here we find no heart and stomach, and no interesting play on the Queen’s femininity or sex. This has led some historians to wonder if Sharp’s later recording of the words is unreliable and inauthentic.

But it seems more likely that Aske, churning out jingoistic doggerel while the national mood was still jubilant, was the one who took liberties with the wording used by the Queen, if he even knew what she had said on that day in August 1588.

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THE SPANISH ARMADA

Queen elizabeth i.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. It was arguably Queen Elizabeth's finest hour. For years she had been hailed as the English Deborah, the saviour of the English people, and now it seemed that this is what she had really become. She was now Bellona, the goddess of war, and in triumph she had led her people to glory, defeating the greatest power in the 16th century world. Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Philip II ruled vast territories of land, and had unparalleled wealth from the New World. England was a small country, with little wealth, few friends, and many enemies. If Queen Elizabeth ever felt nervous about challenging the greatest power in the known world, she never showed it, and appeared to believe completely in the devotion and loyalty of her people. By believing in them, they believed in her.

Philip II Wiki Commons

Although relations between Spain and England had began rather well, with Philip even proposing marriage to the English Queen, over the 30 years since the Queen's accession, relations had deteriorated. There were many reasons for this. To begin with, England was a Protestant country, and Spain was a Roman Catholic one. The Spanish made no secret of their hostility to the English Queen, who they believed was illegitimate and had no right to the English throne, and had been involved in plots to dethrone her. Elizabeth herself had encouraged the activities of the English pirates, who plundered Philip's ships as they made their way from the New World, seizing their treasures. This had angered Philip immensely, especially as the stolen treasure was used to help fund those people rebelling against his rule in the Netherlands. As early as 1585, Philip had begun to prepare a great fleet that, under the command of Santa Cruz, would invade England. At first the aim of the Spanish Armada was to liberate the captive Queen of Scots, but when Mary was executed for conspiring Elizabeth's death in 1587, Philip planned to invade England in the name of his daughter, the Infanta Isabella. Philip believed he had a genuine claim to the English throne, both by descent from John of Gaunt, and as Queen Mary I's husband. The purpose of the mission was to depose Elizabeth, put Mary, then Isabella, on the throne, and make England Roman Catholic once again.

Infanta Isabella Wiki Commons

It was perhaps an omen, however, that from the start, the Spanish faced problems. Santa Cruz died, and his successor, the Duke of Medina Sedonia, was not at all suited to the post. He had little faith in the enterprise and little experience. He begged Philip to release him from the charge, but the King was adamant. The enterprise had received another set back when Francis Drake and his men had sailed to the coast of Spain and destroyed many of the Spanish ships at Cadiz. Queen Elizabeth had heard mutterings of the intended invasion of England by Spain for some time. She was not, however, at first concerned about the rumours. She had heard such rumours for almost 30 years, and easily dismissed them. Her Councillors were not so dismissive. It eventually became clear to Elizabeth, however, that this time, the Spanish were really going to send an armada against England. Although the Queen had spent considerable amounts of money funding the Netherlands campaign, she now employed all her efforts in raising funds to ensure that when the Spanish Armada came, England would be prepared.

Despite numerous setbacks the Spanish had received, they were determined to set a fleet against England, and in the May of 1588 at last the great fleet set out. The plans of the Spanish were meticulous. It was planned that the Spanish fleet, consisting of over 100 ships, would sail up from Spain along the English Channel and meet with the forces of the Duke of Parma, Philip's nephew, making their way from the Netherlands. Together they would sail towards England. It was believed that this force would overwhelm the English. The English would be conquered, and the heretical Queen would be captured. But the English were waiting. On the cliffs of England and Wales, men watched the seas day and night, waiting for the first sighting of the great Armada. When at last the great ships appeared on the horizon, beacons were lit on the hillsides, which sent the message over the cliffs and throughout the country, that the Spanish were coming. The beacons sent the message quicker than any horseman could ever ride, and by morning, London and the Queen knew that the day of reckoning had come. As soon as the ships began to make their way up the channel, the fighting began.

Queen Elizabeth at Tilbury

Read Queen Elizabeth's Speech at Tilbury

The Queen's confidence in God and her people was rewarded. In the English channel, the Spanish were suffering a humiliating defeat. The weather was dreadful, with the wind and rain against them, and they were not able to compete with the superior English ships and war tactics. They fled in terror when fire ships were aimed at them. The only way back to Spain was the perilous journey around the coast of Scotland, and many a Spaniard never saw his home country again. The battle was over, the English had won.

Sir Francis Drake Wiki Commons

The Queen and her people were jubilant. No more were they a second rate sea power, for they had conquered the fleet of the mighty Spanish Empire. A thanksgiving service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral for the delivery of the country, and a medal was struck with the words "God blew and they were scattered" inscribed on it. They believed that the storm that had besieged the Spanish ships was no ordinary storm, but the work of a Protestant God. But amongst the joy, there was considerable sorrow for the Queen. The Earl of Leicester, who had been her companion since her accession, and who she undoubtedly loved, had died unexpectedly not long after sharing with her the great victory. The Queen was devastated and secluded herself for a while. In the Armada portrait she reputedly wears the pearls he left her in his will. But her people needed her, and despite her grief, the Queen participated fully in the celebrations at St. Pauls. "God bless you my people" she called out, and her people called a thousand blessings on her. Although King Philip sent other fleets against England in the 1590's, none was as significant, or as threatening as that of the great Armada of 1588, and none has captured the imagination of successive generations as much.

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TUDOR TROPHY MYTHS: ELIZABETH I SHAKESPEARE QUIZ

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Let tyrants fear; I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you all - to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honor and my blood even in the dust.

I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king - and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonor should grow by me, I myself will take up arms - I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.

I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns, and, we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. For the meantime, my Lieutenant General Leicester shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my General, by your concord in the camp, and your valor in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom and of my people.

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• Introduction

Background to the invasion

The spanish fleet, the english fleet, opening of the naval conflict, defeat of the armada, significance.

• Who was Philip II?
• How did Philip II become king?
• What is Philip II known for?
• Who succeeded Philip II?

Spanish Armada

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• History Learning Site - The Spanish Armada
• Royal Museums Greenwich - The history of the Spanish Armada
• GlobalSecurity.org - The Armada of 1588
• Heritage History - The Spanish Armada
• Spartacus Educational - The Spanish Armada
• Warfare History Network - Defeat of the Spanish Armada
• World History Encyclopedia - Spanish Armada
• Historic UK - The Spanish Armada
• Academia - The Fall of the Spanish Armada
• British Battles - The Spanish Armada
• Library of Congress - The "Invincible" Armada, 1588
• Royal Museum Greenwich - Queen Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury
• Spanish Armada - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Spanish Armada - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

Spanish Armada , the great fleet sent by King Philip II of Spain in 1588 to invade England in conjunction with a Spanish army from Flanders . England’s attempts to repel this fleet involved the first naval battles to be fought entirely with heavy guns, and the failure of Spain’s enterprise saved England and the Netherlands from possible absorption into the Spanish empire.

Philip had long been contemplating an attempt to restore the Roman Catholic faith in England, and English piracies against Spanish trade and possessions offered him further provocation. The Treaty of Nonsuch (1585) by which England undertook to support the Dutch rebels against Spanish rule, along with damaging raids by Sir Francis Drake against Spanish commerce in the Caribbean in 1585–86, finally convinced Philip that a direct invasion of England was necessary. He decided to use 30,000 troops belonging to the veteran army of the Spanish regent of the Netherlands, the duke of Parma, as the main invasion force and to send from Spain sufficient naval strength to defeat or deter the English fleet and clear the Strait of Dover for Parma’s army to cross from Flanders over to southeastern England.

After nearly two years’ preparation and prolonged delays, the Armada sailed from Lisbon in May 1588 under the command of the duke of Medina-Sidonia , a replacement for Spain’s most distinguished admiral, the marquess de Santa Cruz, who had died in February. Medina-Sidonia was an experienced administrator who proved to be resolute and capable in action, but he had relatively little sea experience. The Spanish fleet consisted of about 130 ships with about 8,000 seamen and possibly as many as 19,000 soldiers. About 40 of these ships were line-of-battle ships, the rest being mostly transports and light craft. The Spaniards were conscious that even their best ships were slower than those of the English and less well armed with heavy guns, but they counted on being able to force boarding actions if the English offered battle, after which the superiority of the Spanish infantry would prove decisive.

The English fleet was under the command of Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham ; he was no more experienced an admiral than Medina-Sidonia but was a more effective leader. His second in command was Sir Francis Drake. The English fleet at one time or another included nearly 200 ships, but during most of the subsequent fighting in the English Channel it numbered less than 100 ships, and at its largest it was about the same size as the Spanish fleet. No more than 40 or so were warships of the first rank, but the English ships were unencumbered by transports, and even their smallest vessels were fast and well armed for their size. The English placed great reliance on artillery; their ships carried few soldiers but had many more and heavier guns than the Spanish ships. With these guns, mounted in faster and handier ships, they planned to stand off and bombard the Spanish ships at long range.

Gales forced the Armada back to the port of A Coruña (in northern Spain) for refitting, and it finally got under way again in July. The Armada was first sighted by the English off Lizard Point , in Cornwall , on July 29 (July 19, Old Style). The larger part of the English fleet was then at Plymouth , dead to leeward, but by a neat maneuver was able to get to the windward, or upwind, side of the enemy (i.e., west of the Armada, given the prevailing west winds) and hence gain the tactical initiative . In three encounters (off Plymouth, July 31 [July 21]; off Portland Bill, August 2 [July 23]; and off the Isle of Wight , August 4 [July 25]), the English harassed the Spanish fleet at long range and easily avoided all attempts to bring them to close action but were unable to inflict serious damage on the Spanish formation.

The Armada reached the Strait of Dover on August 6 (July 27) and anchored in an exposed position off Calais , France. The English also anchored, still to windward (west of the Armada), and were reinforced by a squadron that had been guarding the narrow seas. The first certain news of the Armada’s advance reached Parma in Flanders the same day, and he at once began embarking his troops in their invasion craft, but the process required six days, and the Armada had no safe port in which to wait for him nor any means of escorting his small craft across the coastal shallows where Dutch and English warships cruised to intercept them. This defect in Spanish strategy was to prove disastrous.

At midnight on August 7–8 (July 28–29), the English launched eight fire ships before the wind and tide into the Spanish fleet, forcing the Spanish ships to cut or slip their cables (thus losing their anchors) and stand out to sea to avoid catching fire. The Spanish ships’ formation was thus completely broken. At dawn on the 8th the English attacked the disorganized Spanish ships off Gravelines , and a decisive battle ensued. The English ships now closed to effective range and were answered largely with small arms. The Spanish ships’ heavy guns were not mounted, nor were Spanish gunners trained to reload in action. They sustained serious damage and casualties without being able to reply effectively. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore, and others were badly battered. At the same time, the English were obliged by shortage of ammunition to break off the action and follow at a distance. By the morning of August 9 (July 30), the prevailing westerly winds were driving the Spaniards toward the shoals of the Zeeland banks. At the last minute, however, the wind shifted and allowed them to shape a safe course to the northward. Both the west wind and the English fleet now prevented the Armada from rejoining Parma, and it was forced to make the passage back to Spain around the northern tip of Scotland . The English fleet turned back in search of supplies when the Armada passed the Firth of Forth and there was no further fighting, but the long voyage home through the autumn gales of the North Atlantic proved fatal to many of the Spanish ships. Whether through battle damage, bad weather, shortage of food and water, or navigational error, some ships foundered in the open sea while others were driven onto the west coast of Ireland and wrecked. Only 60 ships are known to have reached Spain, many of them too badly damaged to be repaired, and perhaps 15,000 men perished. The English lost several hundred, perhaps several thousand, men to disease but sustained negligible damage and casualties in action.

The defeat of the Armada saved England from invasion and the Dutch Republic from extinction, while dealing a heavy blow to the prestige of the greatest European power of the age. Tactically, the Armada action has enduring historical significance as the first major naval gun battle under sail and as the moment from which, for over two and a half centuries, the gun-armed sailing warship dominated the seas.

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The Spanish Armada 8 – Elizabeth’s Tilbury Speech

In her article “The Myth of Elizabeth at Tilbury”, Susan Frye, writes that there are no reliable eye-witness accounts regarding Elizabeth I’s appearance on that day, but that tradition places the Queen in armour, giving a rousing speech – an iconic Gloriana.

Descriptions of Elizabeth I at Tilbury

Many historians and authors have described Elizabeth I on that August day in 1588:-

In “Elizabeth the Great” (1958), Elizabeth Jenkins wrote:-

“A steel corselet was found for her to wear and a helmet with white plumes was given to a page to carry. Bareheaded, the Queen mounted the white horse. The Earl of Ormonde carried the sword of state before her, Leicester walked at the horse’s bridle, and the page with the helmet came behind.”

Carolly Erickson, in “The First Elizabeth” (1983), wrote:-

“She rode through their ranks on a huge white warhorse, armed like a queen out of antique mythology in a silver cuirass and silver truncheon. Her gown was white velvet, and there were plumes in her hair like those that waved from the helmets of the mounted soldiers.”

J E Neale, in “Queen Elizabeth I: A Biography” (1934), wrote:-

“Mounted on a stately steed, with a truncheon in her hands, she witnessed a mimic battle and afterwards reviewed the army.”

In “The Armada” (1959), Garrett Mattingly wrote:-

“She was clad all in white velvet with a silver cuirass embossed with a mythological design, and bore in her right hand a silver truncheon chased in gold.”

Reading those descriptions, it is clear, as Susan Frye points out, that an analogy is being drawn between Elizabeth I and Britomart, the armed heroine of Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”, the virgin Knight of Chastity and Virtue. However there is no firm evidence that Elizabeth dressed like that on that day, but I like to think, with Elizabeth’s love of drama and her belief in the power of image and propaganda, that she appeared before her troops just like that.

The Tilbury Speech

There are three versions of the speech that Elizabeth I gave to the troops at Tilbury. The first is recorded by Dr Leonel Sharp in a letter to the Duke of Buckingham, thought to have been written sometime after the Duke of Buckingham’s 1623 marriage expedition to Spain. Sharp’s is the most famous rendition of Elizabeth I’s speech:-

“My loving people, We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.”

The second version of the Tilbury Speech is one recorded in 1612 by William Leigh, in his sermon “Quene Elizabeth, Paraleld in Her Princely Vertues”, where he described Elizabeth appearing before her troops “with God in her heart, and a commaunding staffe in her hand” and saying the following:-

“Come on now, my companions at arms, and fellow soldiers, in the field, now for the Lord, for your Queen, and for the Kingdom. For what are these proud Philistines, that they should revile the host of the living God? I have been your Prince in peace, so will I be in war; neither will I bid you go and fight, but come and let us fight the battle of the Lord. The enemy perhaps may challenge my sex for that I am a woman, so may I likewise charge their mould for that they are but men, whose breath is in their nostrils, and if God do not charge England with the sins of England, little do I fear their force… Si deus nobiscum quis contra nos? (if God is with us, who can be against us?)”

The third version of Elizabeth’s speech appears beneath the painting of “Elizabeth at Tilbury” in St Faith’s Church, Gaywood, which was commissioned by Thomas Hare (1572 – 1634), the rector and is dated 1588, although it may well have been painted in the early 16th century. This speech, published in Susan Frye’s article, reads:-

“Now for Queene & For the kingdome I have beene your Queene in P[e]a[ce] in warre, neither will I bid you goe & Fight, but come & let us Fight the battell of the Lorde-For what ar thes proud Philistines that they should Revile the host of the Living God. It may be they will challenge my [sexe] For that I am a woman so may I charge [their] mo[uld] [flor that they ar but [men] whose breath is in theire nostrells and if God doe not charge England with the sinnes of England we shall not neede to feare what Rome or Spayne can doe against us w: whome is but An ar[mi]e o[f] Flesh where as with us in the Lord our God to Fight our battells & to helpe I with us yt skills not Greatley if all the devills in hell be against us[.]”

Frye points out that this Gaywood speech and Leigh’s record of Elizabeth’s speech are scrambled versions of one another. Frye explains this:-

“If we delete the very different prayers with which the two versions end, and amend the text of the Gaywood speech as indicated in n. 16 [in note 16 of her article, Frye notes that the words “we commend your prayers, for they will move the heavens, so doe wee your powerfull preaching, for that will shake the earth of our earthly hearts; and call us to repentance, whereby our good God may relieve us, and roote up in mercy his deferred Iudgements against us, onely be faithfull and fear not.” were excluded in the Leigh speech by her elipsis], then the Gaywood text, containing 122 words, reproduces 103 exact words of Leigh’s 147 words. Except for the lengthy Gaywood clause of 45 words (which explains why, if God does not hold England’s sins against her, no one need fear), most of the difference rests in alternate word choices: “I have beene your Queene in Peace” (Gaywood), “I have been your Prince in Peace” (Leigh); in paraphrase: “It may be they will challenge my [sexe]” (Gaywood), “the enemie perhaps may challenge my sexe” (Leigh); and in omission: “now for Queene & For the Kingdome” (Gaywood), “now for the Lord, for your Queene and for the kingdome” (Leigh).”

Frye goes on to say that the Leigh and Gaywood speeches differ enough for the Gaywood painting speech to be a copy of Leigh’s sermon, but it could well be that they are derived from Elizabeth I’s actual speech. Frye is convinced that Leigh’s speech is “a more probable Tilbury speech, while Sharp’s may be a memorial reconstruction (he was at Tilbury)” and although Sharp was present at Tilbury, he was using the wording of the speech to make a point (he feared the proposed Spanish marriage of Prince Charles) so his version could be unreliable as it is coloured by his views. There are, however, similarities between the Leigh/Gaywood version and Sharp’s version, which Frye points out:-

• Military comradery – “my companion at arms” (Leigh) and “I myself will take up arms” (Sharp).
• Elizabeth plays on her sex -“the enemie perhaps may challenge my sexe” (Leigh) and “I have the body of weak and feeble woman.” (Sharp).

Tilbury and the Virgin Queen

Do the exact details of what Elizabeth wore at Tilbury and what she really said matter? Frye argues that:-

“For no matter what happened at Tilbury, no matter what the Queen wore or said, the fictions that surround her visit became essential. Contemporaries invented a first myth as the means to connect the defeat of the Armada with the Queen’s person through her virginity. Historians and biographers perpetuated a second myth, which portrayed Elizabeth as symbolic of England’s emergent military power and, by extension, of a unified political power she did not actually command.”

and she also goes on to say that this image and mythology of Elizabeth as the Virgin Queen, whose “virtue was closely associated with the welfare of England throughout her reign”, meant that an attack on England actually constituted rape, because it was an attack on Elizabeth’s person. She talks about Louis Montrose’s discussion on the Armada Portrait and how the defeat of the Spanish Armada was “expressed in sexual terms”:-

“The Armada portrait-or, more precisely, the three extant Armada portraits, for they are nearly identical-makes a clear spatial connection in the triangle linking the two pictures of an Armada beset by storms and fireships with the virginal bow at the end of Elizabeth’s stomacher, to which our eyes are drawn by strands of virginal pearls and rows of tight, small bows.”

Interesting!

Although I knew that the painting was referring to Elizabeth as the Virgin Queen, I had never thought about the Spanish attack being seen as rape. Elizabeth saw herself as a virgin married to England, so an attack on the country was an attack on her and her virginity.

Susan Frye points out that England was definitely on the defensive during the Spanish Armada and ill prepared for an English invasion. Spain had been preparing its Armada for three years, yet England’s lack of financial credit meant that Elizabeth’s Privy Council could only take defensive measures at the last moment, e.g. the Earl of Leicester amassing troops at Tilbury in late July and early August 1588 when the Armada were already in the Channel. It is fortunate that England made good use of its lighter ships, which were easy to manoeuvre, that it had Effingham and Drake to command its fleet and that the weather (the Protestant Wind) worked against the Armada.

Susan Frye writes:-

“To those alive in 1588, England must have seemed anything but united, just as Elizabeth’s Tilbury visit may have only provided ineffectual pageantry, for she performed before unpaid and illequipped and even hungry soldiers, many of whom, we know from royal proclamation, tried to sell their armor the moment they were disbanded. Nevertheless, the Queen’s review of the troops proved a brilliant stroke, which grew more brilliant in the succeeding weeks, years, and centuries because it provided a moment through which generations could cast Elizabeth I as the powerful political icon she remains.”

and I think she has hit the nail on the head. Elizabeth’s visit to the troops was essential to raise morale and as propaganda. Elizabeth knew just what she was doing!

Elizabeth’s understanding of the importance of image has led to us, over 400 years later, still regarding her as the Virgin Queen and Gloriana, the monarch who brought a Golden Age to England. How powerful is that?!

Notes and Sources

• “The Myth of Elizabeth at Tilbury” by Susan Frye from “The Sixteenth Century Journal”, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 1992, p95-114, found at JSTOR

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Elizabeth I and the build-up to the Spanish Armada 1588

Why did the Spanish try to invade?

08 Jul 2016

On 22 July 1588 the Spanish Armada, a force of 130 ships and 18,000 men, left northern Spain and headed for the English Channel. Its objective was to rendezvous with a large army assembled in the Netherlands, commanded by the Duke of Parma

The circumstances that led to England being under threat of invasion from Spain, a Continental superpower, were a foreign-relations catastrophe. The conquest of England would gain the English crown for Philip II of Spain – briefly held, though only as consort, during his marriage to Elizabeth’s half-sister Mary I – and return the country to Roman Catholicism, ending Elizabeth’s reign and leaving Western Europe dominated by Spain.

The Henrician Reformation and break with Rome in the 1530s left England continually at odds with her Catholic neighbours. When it became clear Elizabeth I would never be gathered into the Catholic fold, she was excommunicated in 1570 by the Pope.

A legacy of this on-going tension was sustained investment in the English navy to defend home waters. Spain’s New World Empire was the source of enormous wealth much coveted in England. From the 1560s, English sailors turned Protestant privateering into a global enterprise, plundering Spanish shipping in European and Atlantic waters. Drake’s repeated assaults upon Spain and its colonies included the looting and burning of over two dozen ships in the Spanish naval base of Cadiz in 1587.

England also aspired to be an imperial power through private enterprise. Attempts were made in 1584 and 1587 to establish the first English colony in the world on the east coast of North America, resulting in Sir Walter Raleigh claiming the territory of ‘Virginia’ on behalf of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen.

Friction between Spain and England was also caused by Elizabeth’s tacit support from the 1570s for the Protestant rebellions in the Spanish Netherlands and in France. In response, Philip II gave surreptitious aid to Catholic conspiracies against her throne and life.

Timing was key, as by the late 1580s Elizabeth was in her mid-50s, unmarried, childless, and without an heir. Her Catholic cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, had the best claim to the English throne, but in 1568 she had been forced to abdicate and fled to England, where she was imprisoned. Over time, Mary was at the centre of numerous plots against Elizabeth, her continued existence regarded by many in England as the greatest challenge to Elizabeth’s regime and the Protestant settlement.

After much prevarication, reluctant to remove a legitimate monarch regardless of the cause, Elizabeth signed Mary’s death warrant at Greenwich in February 1587. Mary’s execution resulted in her Protestant son James becoming King of Scotland, and Elizabeth’s heir. It was the final straw for Philip II and preparations to invade England accelerated.

The naval balance of power between England and Spain in the summer of 1588 was delicately poised. The English fleet outnumbered the Armada, but the Spanish ships were larger and heavily armed: much depended on tactics, nerve and (as it turned out) luck. 

Next week we'll be looking at the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Elizabeth's famous Tilbury speech. 

We've teamed up with the Art Fund to save the iconic Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I , which commemorates the historic defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. If our fundraising campaign is successful it will enter a public collection for the first time in its 425-year history.