Álvaro de la Quadra (? – 1564) was a Spanish churchman and diplomat. He was Prelate and Ambassador to England during

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

reign. He was bishop of Aquila and Venosa and attended the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

. He was a descendant of Iñigo López de la Cuadra, who met

Ferdinand the Catholic Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

in 1476 on his visit to Vizcaya and captained his personal bodyguard, saving his life in an assassination attempt. His relatives also included Pedro de la Quadra (secretary to

Isabella of Portugal Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and La ...

) and Juan López de la Quadra (who taught

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

's children Isabel and John). According to Enrique García Hernán, on 9 January 1563, the Irish Chief Shane O’Neill, in rebellion against Elizabeth I, requested Spanish military assistance through Quadra, then Spanish Ambassador in London. Although O'Neill received a negative answer, Elizabeth I asked Madrid to recall Quadra. This leads to believe that Quadra, who died of the plague in England before he could return home, provided some support to O’Neill (probably money) or had done so in the past. De la Quadra was depicted by

James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...

in the 1998 film ''

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

''.

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) Spanish Roman Catholic bishops 1564 deaths Spanish diplomats Year of birth unknown Bishops of L'Aquila Ambassadors of Spain to England {{Spain-RC-bishop-stub