Maritime history only when his ship was too disabled to offer any resistance. The Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidona in 1588. The Spanish Armada was sent by King Philip II of Spain, who had been king consort of England until the death of his wife Mary I of England thirty years earlier. The purpose of the expedition was to escort the Duke of Parma's army of tercios from the Spanish Netherlands across the North Sea for a landing in south-east England. Once the army had suppressed English support
The Armada Service was valued at "about £100,000" on the BBC One television show "Antiques Roadshow", by Alastair Dickenson, the programme’s silver expert. At an auction at Lawrence's of Crewkerne in Somerset, Dickenson acquired for a client two related pieces for £135,000, which had been exported to the southern United States before being repatriated to England. The present location of these "three" (sic) pieces is unknown. Armada Dishes in Sterling Silver The Armada Service The Armada Service ("alias" Tudor Service) is a set of more than 31 gilded silver dishes, dated between 1581 and 1601, formerly owned by Sir Christopher Harris (c. 1553–1625),