With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and the Fight for a Nation's Soul and Crown

by Benton Rain Patterson

Philip II of Spain, the most powerful monarch in sixteenth-century Europe and a ferocious empire-builder, was matched against the dauntless queen of England, Elizabeth I, determined to defend her country and thwart Philip's ambitions. Philip had been king of England while married to Elizabeth's half-sister, Bloody Mary Tudor, a devout Catholic. After Mary's untimely death, he courted Elizabeth, the new queen, and proposed marriage to her, hoping to build a permanent alliance between his country and hers and return England to the Catholic fold. Lukewarm to the Spanish alliance and resolute against a counterreformation, Elizabeth declined his proposal. When under her guidance England's maritime power grew to challenge Spain's rule of the sea and threaten its rich commerce, Philip became obsessed with the idea of a conquest of England and the restoration of Catholicism there, by fire and sword. Elizabeth—bold, brilliant, defiantly Protestant—became his worst enemy. In 1586 Philip began assembling the mighty Spanish Armada, and in May 1588 it sailed from Lisbon. With superior seamanship and strategies, Elizabeth's navy defeated and drove off the Spanish fleet. Forced to retreat around the northern coast of Ireland and Scotland, Philip's ships ran into violent storms that wreaked havoc. It was the rivalry's climactic event.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Biography, Historical

352 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2007

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book focusing on the lives of Philip II of Spain and Queen Elizabeth I of England and the events leading up to the Spanish Armada and attempted Spanish invasion of England. I found Patterson's writing style very easy to follow and the scope of his work well-defined. While I did feel that I know quite a bit about these historical figures and these events already, this book expanded my knowledge surrounding the motivations and challenges faced by both Philip II and Elizabeth, as well as the influence of other people (namely, Mary Queen of Scots) defining their choices.
The story progressed well, but I felt that the resolution let it down a little, hence, I award it 4 stars.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first four chapters, I wondered if this wasn't aimed at a young adult audience. It was dumbed down to appeal to that crowd. But it got better as it got into the Elizabeth side of the story, which is clearly where the authors passion lay. His characterization of Spanish King Phillip II is one dimensional, almost a cartoonish evil villain kind of a bad guy, but once he gets into Elizabeth I, he really brings her alive, as well as her co-parties, and the times they were in. His telling of the Spanish Armada episode is excellent, and well worth reading the book for.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining narrative history of the Armada and the events leading up to it, centered on the two towering personalities of Elizabeth I of England and Philip II of Spain.

[Leonora Shiell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the circumstances leading up to the Spanish Armada and the attack itself. As far as non-fiction books go, it was short and quite readable. I'm definitely interested in learning more about Queen Elizabeth I.

[Stephen Foltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scholarly, yet quite interesting, account of Emperor Charles V, of the Holy Roman Empire, and his son Prince Philip, who became his heir and the complicated politics and relationships between Spain, France and England (primarily). A lot of detail is included about the previous rulers and popes, as well as the other countries which comprised the Empire that Charles and Philip ruled.

The conflict between Catholic and Protestant rulers is also a key factor in all the relationships and timelines of each successive rule. I was very surprised and pleased with the succinct history concerning the beginning of the Reformation and Luther's honest quarrels with the teachings and practices of the Catholic church in a single chapter (11).

While sometimes a bit repetitive and including some chronological reversals that tend to confuse the reader momentarily, this is a very interesting and illuminating book.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent, simply put. Elizabeth's resistance of Philip was always one of the more interesting aspects of her reign to me. It was interesting to see how these two strong-willed sovereigns butted heads. The details of the Armada and its battle with the English were well written (go Fire Ships!). As always, I learned a few new tidbits about Elizabeth along the way and I enjoyed learning more about Philip as well.

[Karen E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about Philip of Spain and Elizabeth I of England. It had not registered with me before that Philip had been married to Elizabeth's sister, "Bloody" Mary, and must take part of the blame for the persecution of Catholics that Mary practiced during her reign. Why weren't history books this interesting when we had to read them in school?

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contained information on the Armada which I had never seen before.