Philip II
1527-1598. King of Spain. Son of the emperor Charles V and his wife Isabella of Portugal and married to Mary Tudor. His influence as co-monarch has not left much impression upon the memory of the British history and are largely "replaced by images of invincible armadas" (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). Although he failed "to suppress the revolt of the Netherlands (1566)" (ibid.) and his Spanish Armada lost against England in 1588, "the Spanish empire attained its greatest power, extent, and influence" (ibid.) during his reign.
The Consort
Philip was first married to his cousin and princess of Portugal Maria (1527-1545), together they had one son, Don Carlos. Maria died shortly after his birth. During this time his father Charles had close links to Mary but because he was too old to marry her, he decided to commit her to his son Philip. As most of the marriages in these times Mary and Philip also married for dynastic reasons in 1554. It can even be called the paradigm for a political action because it was part of the "long struggle against the French" (Oxford Dictionary of British History). It was hard for the husband to learn his wife's language and Mary only could understand Spanish but not speak it, so that the king spoke in Spanish and mary replied in French. While Mary was proud of her young husband from Philip's point of view the marriage "served its purpose by drawing England into the conflict with France"(ibid.). The fact that Mary seemed to be "overjoyed" (ibid.) with her husband who stayed with his wife in England only a while, but could not give him an heir was her personal tragedy and an international mockery at the same time. Philip left his wife alone with her problems to go back to Spain and became the king of Spain only one year after their wedding. After Mary Tudor died Philip "offered himself as a husband to Elizabeth I" (ibid.) but she refused it.
Refrences
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22097?docPos=2
Oxford Dictionary of British History. Ed. John Cannon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. 508-509.
Suerbaum, Ulrich. Das elisabethanische Zeitalter. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam jun. GmnbH & Co., 1989. 102-103.