"Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain" continues the story of the first Queen Elizabeth, begun in "Young Bess" and "Elizabeth Captive Princess". Philip of Spain has come to England to marry Queen Mary and thus secure England for Spain and the Papal Church.
But the unwilling bridegroom is fascinated, still more unwillingly, by his wife's young sister Elizabeth, a girl with a spirit "full of enchantment", as his ambassador warns him. Philip fears her as a rebel and heretic, a potential enemy, yet hopes to win her - and eventually England.
Elizabeth runs the gauntlet between Bloody Mary's jealousy and morbid outbursts of hate, and Philip's uneasy advances. Continual danger trains her in the art of diplomacy, which she will soon, as Queen, be using for England's salvation.
The story ends with the triumphant coronation of the first Elizabeth. As well as being a thrilling historical romance it brings to the reader a vivid awareness of Philip's point of view, of his background and character, not to mention his astonishing father, the Emperor Charles V. Such writing as this illumines history and brings the period to life.