Bio

In 1621, at the age of sixteen, Phillip (b. 1605) succeeded his father as King of Spain and Portugal, inheriting a realm that included all of the Iberian penninsula, the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, much of the Italian penninsula, and Flanders (the Spanish Netherlands) as well as vast territories in the New World.

Phillip married Élisabeth de France (b. 1602), sister of King Louis XIII in 1615. With two daughters that died as infants, the couple have yet to produce an heir.

Phillip is an avid patron of artists and poets, including court painter Diego Velázquez, and enjoys hunting and horsemanship. His personal mien is one of pious and regal solemnity, a trait highly valued by the rigid mores of the Spanish court. Most of the actual governing of Spain he leaves to his gifted minister, the conde de Olivares.