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 Her 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, Foreign Secretary 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.
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 | Envoy | Remarks | Monarch | Envoy to | Left post |
| 1505 | John Stile | Resident Ambassador; left 1511, returned later | Henry VIII of England | Ferdinand II of Aragon | |
| William Knight | Commissioned with John Stile to treat with Ferdinand of Aragon about the defence of the Church | Henry VIII of England | Ferdinand II of Aragon | ||
| Sir Thomas Spinelly | Resident Ambassador | Henry VIII of England | Charles I of Spain | 1522 | |
| John Kite John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners | Special mission to form an alliance between Henry VIII and Charles of Spain | Henry VIII of England | Charles I of Spain | ||
| 1533 | Richard Pate | Resident Ambassador | Henry VIII of England | Charles I of Spain | 1537 |
| 1537 | Sir Thomas Wyatt | Resident Ambassador | Henry VIII of England | Charles I of Spain | 1539 |
| John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex | Mission to arrange marriage of Mary I and Philip II | Mary I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | |||
| Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu Sir Thomas Chamberlain | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | |||
| Thomas Chaloner | Resident Ambassador | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| William Phayre | Chargé d'affaires | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| John Man | Resident Ambassador | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| Sir John Smith | Special mission | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| December 1577 | Thomas Wilkes | Special mission | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | February 1578 |
| May 1579 | Edward Wotton, 1st Baron Wotton | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| January 1583 | William Wade | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | August 1584 | |
| 1584 | Thomas Wilson | Elizabeth I of England | Philip II of Spain | ||
| Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham | Ambassador Extraordinary Audience: 18. May 1605 Secretary Robert Treswell This was the mission that ceremonially re-inaugurated diplomatic relations. | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | ||
| 1605 | Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | ||
| 1605 | Charles Cornwallis | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | 1609 | |
| 1608 | John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | ||
| 1609 | Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | 1611 | |
| 1609 | Peter Wyche | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | 1611 | |
| 1616 | William Cecil, 17th Baron de Ros | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | ||
| 1617 | John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol | kinsman of John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | 1618 |
| 1617 | John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | ||
| 1618 | Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of Forfar | James VI and I | Philip III of Spain | ||
| 1622 | Mr. Hole | Mr. Hole, the secretary of the ambassador, John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol, having died at Santander, Cantabria in 1622, the body was not allowed to be buried at all; it was put into a shell, and sunk in the sea ; but no sooner was his lordship gone, than the fishermen, we quote from Somers' Tracts, fearing that they should catch no fish as long as the coffin of a heretic lay in their waters, fished it up, and the corpse of our countryman and brother was thrown above ground, to be devoured by the fowls of the air. | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | |
| 1622 | Simon Digby | , James VI and I resident ambassador in Vienna : asserts succession of Electoral dignity from House Palatine to Bavaria | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | 1640 |
| 1622 | John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | ||
| 1623 | Endymion Porter | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | ||
| 1624 | Stephen Gardiner | James VI and I | Philip IV of Spain | ||
| Peter Wyche | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | |||
| Endymion Porter | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | |||
| Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington | Ambassador Extraordinary | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | ||
| Arthur Hopton | born in 1588 and died in 1650 | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | ||
| John Taylor | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | |||
| Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of Forfar | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | |||
| April 1638 | Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet | Chargé d'affaires | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | |
| Arthur Hopton | born in 1588 and died in 1650 | Charles I of England | Philip IV of Spain | December 1645 | |
| Anthony Ascham | Ambassador sent by Rump Parliament born 27 May 1650, assassinated by Royalists | English Council of State | Philip IV of Spain | ||
| George Fisher | English Council of State | Philip IV of Spain | |||
| February 1657 | Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington | He was sent as Charles's agent to Spain, where he endeavoured to obtain assistance for the royal cause, till after the Restoration. He was not recognized as ambassador by Oliver Cromwell's government. | Charles, Prince of Wales | Philip IV of Spain | |
| George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol | Charles II of England | Philip IV of Spain | |||
| Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | |||
| Robert Southwell | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | |||
| Sir John Werden, 1st Baronet | Chargé d'affaires born in 1640 and died in 1716 | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | ||
| William Godolphin | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | |||
| Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland | Secretary: Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | ||
| Ignatius White | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | October 1677 | ||
| Sir Henry Goodricke, 2nd Baronet | Envoy Extraordinary | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | ||
| Peter Lefett | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | |||
| Charles Granville, 2nd Earl of Bath | Envoy Extraordinary | Charles II of England | Charles II of Spain | December 1688 | |
| John Stafford | Envoy Extraordinary | James II of England | Charles II of Spain | December 1688 | |
| May 1689 | Viscount Dursley | Envoy Extraordinary | Mary II of England | Charles II of Spain | August 1689 |
| 1689 | Alexander Stanhope | Envoy Extraordinary | Mary II of England | Charles II of Spain | 1699 |
| 1699 | Francis Schonenberg | Dutch envoy with British credentials | William III of England | Charles II of Spain | 1702 |
| 1702 | War of the Spanish Succession | No diplomatic relations | William III of England | Philip V of Spain | 1702 |
| 1705 | Mitford Crowe | Envoy to Catalonia | Anne, Queen of Great Britain | Philip V of Spain | 1706 |
| 1705 | Paul Methuen | Envoy Extraordinary | Anne, Queen of Great Britain | Philip V of Spain | 1706 |
| 1706 | Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough, James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope |