The Embassy of Spain in London is the oldest bilateral embassy in the world, having been established by the Catholic monarch King Ferdinand in 1483 to cement the alliance between Spain and England against their common enemy France. Although the relationship has at times been tested, especially in the century that followed, the Embassy has had a profound impact on the fortunes of its host country. For a number of years Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII and mother of Mary the First, served as Spanish Ambassador to the court of Henry’s father.
It is only fitting therefore that the Embassy should also be home to afine art collection, with a great many pieces on long term loan from The Prado and the Coleccion Reales. Among them are these royal Hapsburg images of Phillip III and his grandfather Charles V.
While the Holy Roman Emperor needs no introduction, Phillip III is one of those neglected and not well understood Kings, following in the wake of his extraordinary father Phillip II and followed by his son Phillip IV who was immortalised by brush of Velázquez.
The portrait of Phillip III shown here is by the court painter Bartolomeo Gonález (1564-1627), and portrays Phillip as very much the erudite statesman – a fitting portrayal for a King who’s reign finally saw Spain and England set aside decades of animosity with the signing of the Peace Treaty of London in 1604.
The Arts of Golden Age Spain and the Hispanic World 