List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Spain

The ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Kingdom of Spain, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Spain. The official title is His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain.

The British ambassador to Spain is also non-resident ambassador to the Principality of Andorra.

In 1822, the foreign secretary at that time, George Canning, downgraded the embassy to a mission, and the head of mission from an ambassador to an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, to reflect Spain's decreased importance on the world stage. The mission in Madrid was upgraded to a full embassy once more on 9 December 1887.Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, British Historical Facts 1830-1900, Macmillan 1975, page 168

List of heads of mission

The following is a partial list of British ambassadors to Spain.

Titles of the heads of mission: From 1509 to 1683: Ambassador From 1683 to 1710: Envoy Extraordinary From 1711 to 1821: Ambassador From 1822 to 1887: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Since 1887: Ambassador

Appointed/accreditation Incumbent Monarch Envoy to Left office1505John StileHillgarth, J.N. The Mirror of Spain, 1500-1700: The Formation of a Myth, University of Michigan Press, 2000, page 11Henry VIII of EnglandFerdinand II of Aragon16 June 15183 June 1512William KnightHenry VIII of EnglandFerdinand II of Aragon1 September 151315 July 1517Sir Thomas SpinellyBehrens, Betty The Office of the English Resident Ambassador: Its Evolution as Illustrated by the Career of Sir Thomas Spinelly, 1509-22, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fourth Series, Vol. 16, (1933), pp.161-195Henry VIII of EnglandCharles I of Spain152228 February 1518John KiteJohn Bourchier, 2nd Baron BernersHenry VIII of EnglandCharles I of Spain1 March 15191533Richard PateHenry VIII of EnglandCharles I of Spain15371537Sir Thomas WyattHenry VIII of EnglandCharles I of Spain153912 March 1554John Russell, 1st Earl of BedfordThomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of SussexMary I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain20 July 155412 January 1560Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount MontaguElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain24 June 156024 June 1560Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount MontaguSir Thomas ChamberlainCHAMBERLAIN, Sir Thomas (c.1504-80), History of Parliament OnlineElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain24 June 156230 September 1561Thomas ChalonerElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain15 May 15655 March 1565William PhayreElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain4 April 156612 January 1566John ManElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain5 October 156818 November 1576Sir John SmithFroude, James A., History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, John Parker & Son, London, 1870, reprinted Cambridge University Press, 2011, volume XI, pp64-68Elizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain28 July 1577December 1577Thomas WilkesElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of SpainFebruary 1578May 1579Edward Wotton, 1st Baron WottonElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of SpainJanuary 1583William WadeElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of SpainAugust 15841584Thomas WilsonElizabeth I of EnglandPhilip II of Spain2 March 1605Charles Howard, 1st Earl of NottinghamJames VI and IPhilip III of Spain4 July 15771605Francis Cottington, 1st Baron CottingtonJames VI and IPhilip III of Spain1605Charles CornwallisChris R. Kyle, 'Cornwallis, Sir Charles (c.1555–1629)’, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" (Oxford University Press, 2004), , accessed 1 February 2011.James VI and IPhilip III of Spain16091608John Digby, 1st Earl of BristolJames VI and IPhilip III of Spain1609Francis Cottington, 1st Baron CottingtonFiona Pogson, 'Cottington, Francis, first Baron Cottington (1579?–1652)’, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" (Oxford University Press, 2004),, accessed 1 February 2011.James VI and IPhilip III of Spain16111609Peter WycheJames VI and IPhilip IV of Spain16111616William Cecil, 17th Baron de RosJames VI and IPhilip III of Spain1617John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol, Sir John 1617 Digby sailed for Spain with his kinsman, Sir John, who was English ambassador at Madrid. They returned together 27 April 1618. DIGBY (George lord) son of John, earl of Bristol, was born during his father's embassy to Madrid in 1612.David L. Smith, 'Digby, John, first earl of Bristol (1580–1653)’, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", (Oxford University Press, 2004), , accessed 1 February 2011.James VI and IPhilip IV of Spain16181617John Digby, 1st Earl of BristolJames VI and IPhilip III of Spain1618Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of ForfarJames VI and IPhilip III of Spain1622Mr. HoleJames VI and IPhilip IV of Spain1622Simon Digby (fl. 1620–1640s)James VI and IPhilip IV of Spain16401622John Digby, 1st Earl of BristolJames VI and IPhilip IV of Spain1623Endymion PorterJames VI and IPhilip IV of Spain1624Stephen GardinerJames VI and IPhilip IV of Spain1 March 1625Peter WycheCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain30 April 162611 August 1628Endymion PorterCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain5 January 16291 July 1629Francis Cottington, 1st Baron CottingtonCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain20 April 163118 December 1630Arthur HoptonCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain23 April 163613 July 1634John TaylorCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain24 May 163526 December 1634Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of ForfarCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain31 July 1638April 1638Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st BaronetCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of Spain10 June 163821 March 1638Arthur HoptonCharles I of EnglandPhilip IV of SpainDecember 164525 January 1650Anthony AschamEnglish Council of StatePhilip IV of Spain27 May 165027 May 1650George FisherEnglish Council of StatePhilip IV of Spain26 September 16511654Anglo-Spanish War (1654-1660)English Council of StatePhilip IV of Spain166020 February 1666Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of SandwichCharles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain11 October 166826 February 1666Robert SouthwellCharles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain22 June 166610 July 1668Sir John Werden, 1st BaronetCharles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain10 June 166810 July 1668William GodolphinCharles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain10 June 166821 November 1671Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of SunderlandCharles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain20 May 167229 June 1677Ignatius WhiteCharles II of EnglandCharles II of SpainOctober 167712 June 1679Sir Henry Goodricke, 2nd BaronetJ. D. Davies, 'Goodricke, Sir Henry, second baronet (1642–1705)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 , accessed 10 April 2009Charles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain27 March 168310 December 1682Peter LefettCharles II of EnglandCharles II of Spain16 November 168513 May 1685Charles Granville, 2nd Earl of BathCharles II of EnglandCharles II of SpainDecember 168813 May 1685John StaffordJames II of EnglandCharles II of SpainDecember 1688May 1689Viscount DursleyMary II of EnglandCharles II of SpainAugust 16891689Alexander StanhopeHorn, D.B., British Diplomatic Representatives 1689-1789 (Camden 3rd Ser. 46, 1932)Mary II of EnglandCharles II of Spain16991699Francis SchonenbergMcLachlan, Jean O., Trade and Peace with Old Spain, 1667-1750, Cambridge University Press, 1940, page 38William III of EnglandCharles II of Spain17021702War of the Spanish SuccessionWilliam III of EnglandPhilip V of Spain17021705Mitford CroweAnne, Queen of Great BritainPhilip V of Spain17061705Paul MethuenAnne, Queen of Great BritainPhilip V of Spain17061706Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough, James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope (joint envoys)Davenport, Frances G. & Paullin, Charles O.,European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and Its Dependencies, Lawbook Exchange, 2012, page 123Anne, Queen of Great BritainCharles III of Hungary1707