There had never been such good blood between Spain and England as in the mid-16th century. However, in the last quarter of this century relations between Philip II of Spain (also known as 'Philip the Prudent') and Elizabeth I (also known as 'The Virgin Queen') were very tense at that time, and they deteriorated from 1585 onwards. History teaches that in addition to places, dates, winners and losers, there is another important variant to observe, perhaps of even greater importance: the whys. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"101090","attributes":{"alt":"Philip II of Spain by Joos van Cleve (c. 1580) National Portrait Gallery, London (Public Domain) and Queen Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (c. 1597), Trinity College, Cambridge (Public Domain)","class":"media-image","height":"520","style":"width: 610px; height: 520px;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"610"}}]] Philip II of
