PHILIP II of SPAIN (1556-1598) He was the brother in law of Elizabeth I of England PHILIP II (Spain) & MARY I (England) An absolute ruler, he was a firm believer in the divine right of kings – that God had appointed him as king and that, as God could not make a mistake, neither could Philip. Philip II Governed Spain in her so-called “Golden Age” and ruled one of the world's largest empires in the 16th century Philip II married four times; Maria Manuela of Portugal, Mary Tudor of England, Elizabeth of Valois (in France) and Anne of Austria. Religion: Catholic. Philip II exterminated Protestants in Spain & introduced the Spanish inquisition to the New World ITALY, Napoli (Regno). Filippo II di Spagna. 1554-1598. AR Tarì (25.5mm, 5.88 g, 3h). Second period. Germano Ravaschieri, mintmaster and Vincenzo Porzio, trial master. Dated 1572 GR VP. ·:· 1572 · PHLIPP · DEI · GR · REX · AR · VTR ·, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right; (GR)/ (VP) to left / · SICILIÆ · ET · HIERVSAL ·, crowned coat-of-arms. MIR 176/4; Pannuti-Riccio 26. EF, lightly toned, minor double strike on reverse. Very rare. SICILIÆ · ET · HIERVSAL Sicily and Jerusalem Philip II of Spain (Spanish: Felipe II; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598), called "the Prudent" (el Prudente), was King of Spain (1556–98), King of Portugal (1581–98, as Philip I, Filipe I), King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and 'jure uxoris*' King of England and Ireland (during his marriage to Queen Mary I from 1554–58).He was also Duke of Milan. From 1555, he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Philip’s empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. * Jure uxoris (Latin for "by right of (his) wife". is a title of nobility held by a man because his wife holds it suo jure ("in her own right")
