Philip II, King of Spain
29 Letters signed. Madrid 1559-61

Important series of 29 Letters signed ‘yo el Rey’, including one Autograph subscription by Philip II to his Ambassador in France, Thomas Perrenot de Chantonnay, brother of Cardinal Granville and a further one to Don Don Anotonio de Toledo, 74 leaves in total, 2 partially in cipher, to include address leaves and seals, folio, Flushing Laredo, Valladolid, Toledo, Madrid, 22 August 1559 to 14 April 1561

*** A portion of these letters show the eagerness of the King that his point of view should be the more superior than that of his mother-in-law Catherine de Medici who had become de facto ruler of France after the death of Francis II in 1560 and his brother Charles IX was only ten years old.
The question of the English succession was of prime importance during this period. Mary Queen of Scots was claiming Elizabeth's throne, and French troops had been sent to Scotland in her support. The official Spanish policy was that the two sides should seek a peaceful settlement, but these letters show that Philip was not keen to remain on the sidelines. One of Philip's letters to Chantonnay includes an account of conversation which the Duke of Alba had with the Bishop of Limoges (the French ambassador to Spain), in the course of which Alba had suggested that the King of France's claims to the tide and arms of England were exaggerated, and that he should take care to put loyal subjects into positions of influence in Scotland and not rebels, and had warned him that he would send troops into England at his peril
...As well as this the Duke said...that as I had gathered that the King his master was making great military preparations, much greater than he had hitherto been told on my behalf that he could send to Scotland without making the neighbours uneasy, I wanted to warn him for my part...that if by chance he was thinking of undertaking a diversion in England or in any of the islands of that Kingdom, he should be in no doubt that I could by no means allow or assist him to set foot in any of those places, for the reasons that he has been told so many times... [24 June 1560; translation]

Later the same year the warnings become even stronger; Chantonnay is instructed to deny all rumours that Philip himself is planning to send troops to England and to warn the King of the consequences of sending a French force without Philip's consent.
The other main preoccupation at this time was the Council of Trent, which had been set in train by Philip's father Charles V. Philip and Pope Pius IV were cooperating during 1560-62 for the reconvening of the Council, and Philip remarks in one letter that the Pope is very much opposed to the idea of a French National Council and has asked him to try and dissuade the King of France from pursuing the plan. He is very concerned at the religious unrest in France, but endeavours to counter all the French attempts to oppose the reconvening of the Council at Trent, and suggest that the pardon extended to heretics in France in 1561 must have been done against the Queen Mother's wishes

...you must work on the King, the Queen, the Cardinal of Lorraine and Monsieur de Guise both to facilitate the opening of the General Council and to prevent the National Council, for this must be the purpose and the principal aim which we have in this matter, to repair the damage done to the kingdom, because as for things in Germany, unless God really takes the matter in hand, there is reason to fear, since the Protestants are so obstinate and wayward, that no kind of Council, conducted in the customary way practised by the Church, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, will satisfy them... [4 November 1560; translation]
The earlier letters also contain references to the arrival of Elizabeth of Valois in Spain and their forthcoming wedding, which is to be celebrated in Guadalajara, to the fever of his son Don Carlos, and intriguingly, to Count Egmont, later to be executed by the Spaniards ("...to the letter you sent me from Count Egmont I am replying with this one; you will give it to him if he should be there, and if not you will forward it to Flanders...").

(Quantity:29)

Dimensions: v.s.

LP.MSS.B3001