Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega was a Spanish soldier and playwright who took part in the Spanish occupation of England in the late sixteenth century. While in England, he wrote two plays, El Mejor Mozo de Espana and a play written as a tribute to the original Queen Isabella, namesake of the Queen of England. A famous womanizer, he was also involved in several sexual scandals during his tour of duty.

Fluent in the English language, de Vega was a patron of English theater and a friend of its two greatest contemporary playwrights, William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. In 1597 Marlowe was assigned to observe Shakespeare, whose loyalties were considered suspect to the Spanish authorities. de Vega was promised a role in Shakespeare's upcoming play King Philip; though Lord Westmoreland's Men only narrowly managed to conceal evidence of their work on the English nationalistic play Boudicca, de Vega never became suspicious,

When Boudicca was performed in 1598 and the Spanish were driven out of England, de Vega was captured by English forces. Shakespeare obtained his parole from the newly restored Queen Elizabeth, and he returned to Spain.