King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) was the first modern monarch whose realms spanned the entire globe. With great political skill and a sober mind, he ruled and expanded the territories inherited from his father, Emperor Charles V, transforming the Spanish monarchy into the leading world power of its time. This biography depicts the life of Philip II based on the latest research. He is not only the battle strategist, the tactician, and the power-conscious ruler, but also a loving father and a patron of the arts, a hypocritical believer, and an administrative bureaucrat. Friedrich Edelmayer impressively succeeds in painting a multifaceted portrait of a ruler who continues to fascinate and polarize to this day; he thus provides the first comprehensive biography of Philip II for the German-speaking audience in decades.