Philip III (Felipe, 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was the King of Spain and, as Filipe II, King of Portugal and the Algarves, from 1598 until his death.
Born in Madrid, the son of Philip II, he shared the viewpoints and beliefs of his father, but did not inherit his industry. The hardworking and diligent old king had sorrowfully confessed that God had not given him a son capable of governing his vast dominions, and that he had foreseen that Philip III would be led by his servants. This assessment of his son ultimately proved correct, as Philip's reign saw the beginning of the decline of the Spanish Empire.
Philip III became King of Spain in 1598, inheriting the crown from his father, Philip II.[1] Unlike his father, the younger Philip was lazy, unintelligent, hedonistic, and neither interested nor skilled in governing a kingdom.[2] Upon his ascension to the throne, his forces (along with his elder half-sister Isabella and her husband Albert, who were enthroned as Queen and King of England at the time) were almost immediately expelled from England by an uprising led by Robert Cecil.[3]
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