Happy 497th birthday ( + 1 day) to Felipe II, a man who doesn't appear a day older than 42 in these photos....

Given the GE election announcement this guy would totally get my vote....Well apart from the fact he's fictional and I can't vote in your election but a girl can wish..

This week's W Wednesday theme is Kings.. Louis XVI, Robert III of Scotland, Edward III, George I, Henry VIII, Felipe II and Alexander III of Macedon.. Caesar never declared himself a King ( despite rumours ) & Pharaoh was King.... but King Phil sneakily took the extra slot!

This week some of the many uniform wearing characters played by Ben.

To celebrate the wonderful news about the upcoming Ghosts book, what better man to feature on W Wednesday than our beloved Captain.

Was reading an excellent account of the marriage of Felipe II to his cousin Mary Tudor so of course this version of Phil is the star of this week's W Wednesday....

This week I continued my travels in the footsteps of Felipe II.. stopped at Wolvesey Castle following Chalke. Felipe had his wedding reception here when he married Mary 1st on 25th July 1554 and then yesterday, the Alhambra where he spent about a year as he wasn't mad on Granada.

Loving revisiting Series 1 of Akos and the excellent character that is Lord Adam Quinn..

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When you wake up and your first thought on seeing the date is "Oh, it's Felipe & Mary's wedding anniversary"( 25th July 1554, so 471 years ago today in Winchester Cathedral). The top photo is from my rewatch of "Carlos,Rey Emperador," and the other image is by Lucas de Heere.

There was no way having immersed myself in 16th C Spanish history for many years, that this girl was leaving beautiful Toledo without at least one replica sword.. thankfully with a house in Murcia, the swords returned safely and there was no need for an explanation to an airline.

Was lucky to visit the beautiful Palace of Aranjuez over the weekend. Of course, I focused mainly on the remaining Habsburg rooms, including the former study of Felipe II, which overlooked the Kings Garden. It's nice to see him in his niche overlooking his garden.

Just time before the rain to grab a few shots from the mirador of Ávila and her majestic beauty. I first set eyes on these walls in 2004 through a train window en route to Salamanca and I still get chills..