Thomas Phelippes

Thomas Phelippes was an educated Englishman. When the Spanish Armada invaded and conquered England in 1588, Kyd became secretary to the Duke of Parma, the overall commander of Spanish occupation troops. It was Phelippes who contacted William Shakespeare to let him know that the Spaniards were interested in contracting him to write King Philip. Phelippes was also in the employ of William Cecil and collaborated with Cecil in his plot to overthrow Queen Isabella and King Albert. It was Phelippes who wrote out scripts for Boudicca for use by the actors of Lord Westmoreland's Men.

After the Spaniards were expelled from England and Queen Elizabeth was restored to the throne in 1598, she expressed her gratitude to Phelippes by knighting him.

The question of where Phelippes's loyalties truly lay could never be answered with absolute certainty, but by far the likeliest answer seems to haave been "himself."