Guerau de Espés del Valle (1524 in

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

– 1572) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat. He served as

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

's ambassador to

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

from 1568 to 1571 during one of the tensest moments in Anglo-Spanish relations and was expelled after being accused of complicity of the

Ridolfi plot The Ridolfi plot was a Catholic plot in 1571 to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel between Bruss ...

. He was a knight of the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava (, ) was one of the Spanish military orders, four Spanish military orders and the first Military order (society), military order founded in Kingdom of Castile, Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bu ...

. He also appeared as a character in the 2007 film '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'', played by the British actor

Will Houston William Houston (born July 19, 1968), sometimes credited as Will Houston, is an English actor. Early life and career Born in Sussex, England, he grew up in Northern Ireland. Trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Houston has play ...

Life

John Man John Man (1512–1569) was an English clergyman, college head, and diplomat. Life He was born at Lacock or Winterbourne Stoke, in Wiltshire. He was educated at Winchester College from 1523, and New College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 15 ...

, English ambassador in Madrid, had called the pope a sanctimonious little monk and so Philip II replaced the priest Diego de Silva y Guzmán with Espés as ambassador to England. Due to his hostility to the English, Espés described

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State (1550–1553 and ...

, one of the most powerful and influential noblemen in England at that time, to Philip II as In the Spanish Netherlands the

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

s' Revolt began and in November 1568 the royal treasury in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

sent five ships with 40,000 pounds of gold, with which

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

was to raise troops in the Netherlands to quell the revolt. These ships were attacked by

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

privateers and sought protection in British waters. Espés told Elizabeth that the gold belonged to Philip's bankers and was being sent to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and asked that Elizabeth protect the ships. She agreed and most of the ships anchored in English ports. However, news then reached Elizabeth of a Spanish attack on the British ships in

San Juan de Ulúa San Juan de Ulúa, now known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa, is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico. Juan de Grijalva' ...

port and in reprisal ordered that the Spanish ships be confiscated and their gold moved to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

.Colin Martin, Geoffrey Parker
The Spanish Armada
S.61 On Espés's advice, Alva then seized the goods of English merchant ships anchored at Antwerp. In a letter dated 14 February 1569 Espés wrote that John Hawkins had founded a colony in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in lieu of that lost at

.Letter of August 1569
/ref> He was finally expelled from England for his alleged complicity in the Ridolfi plot.Henry Kamen
Who's who in Europe, 1450-1750
Volume 158James Anthony Froude
History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada
S.17 He also had a surviving correspondence in April 1571.

Notes

1524 births 1572 deaths Ambassadors of Spain to the Kingdom of England 16th-century Spanish diplomats {{Spain-diplomat-stub