Philip II of Spain through the lens of Claudius (Claudius series, Part 21)
What if we consider Claudius, uncle of Hamlet, through the lens of Philip II of Spain, or vice versa? Philip was married to Mary I, older half-sister of Elizabeth I, and as such, he also enjoyed the title of King of England. As Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, she was Philip’s “sometime-sister,” a phrase Claudius uses to describe Gertrude, widow of his brother King Hamlet [1]. Philip had offered a marriage proposal to Elizabeth (1559) two months after the death of Mary I (hasty remarriage), in spite of being the widower of Elizabeth’s half-sister (which would have required special dispensation from Rome, as did the marriage of Henry VIII to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, mother of Mary I); this would have been considered a biblically incestuous marriage. [Edit: Elizabeth *did not accept*. ] There were coins of England during the monarchy of Mary I that featured images of Mary and Philip, some of which are still in existence, although Elizabeth had a majo...
