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Philip of Habsburg, son of Emperor Charles V, is recognized as King of the Romans, thus maintaining his aspirations to claim the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. -
Carlos V ratifies his son Felipe as a candidate for the Germanic throne, relegating his brother Fernando who aspired to be Emperor. -
By his marriage to Mary I of England, Philip of Habsburg becomes King Consort of England. -
September 25: The Peace of Augsburg is signed, ending the religious wars of the Holy Roman Empire so that the rulers of the Empire can choose their religion freely. -
May 8: Felipe de Habsburgo is elected as emperor and crowned two days later in Frankfurt, known as Felipe I; his first policy was to annex Spain and its American dominions to the empire, becoming known as the Holy Roman Empire Germano-Hispanic. In this way he centralized his government, making the administration more effective by creating two capitals: Madrid, which would be in charge of Spain, the Netherlands and its American colonies, -
August 8: Emperor Philip I appoints his cousin Maximilian son of Ferdinand of Habsburg as Governor. -
Emperor Philip I sends Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, Duke of Alba as the new Governor of the Netherlands, to govern with a heavy hand. -
July 24: The Prince of Asturias and King of the Romans Carlos De Habsburgo dies in Madrid. -
May 1: Pope Pius V dies in Rome. -
June 30: Felipe I appoints his illegitimate brother Juan de Austria as governor of Spain. -
October 12: Maximilian of Habsburg dies in Regensburg while planning an invasion of the Netherlands. -
November 2: Maximilian's son Rudolf of Habsburg is appointed Governor of the Germanic territories by Emperor Philip I. -
July 8: Emperor Philip I declares William of Orange outlawed and puts a price on his head. -
March 25: Felipe de Habsburgo is crowned in Lisbon as King Felipe I of Portugal, before the Portuguese nobles he promises that he will not include Portugal in his empire as he did with Spain and will govern as a separate state, in this way he leads to out the Iberian union. -
July 10: William of Orange is assassinated at the hands of Balthasar Gerard, the murder was because Philip I put a price on the head of William of Orange. Balthasar Gerard met with William of Orange pretending to be the Count of Masnfeld and after dinner he shot him point blank, Gerard was arrested before fleeing Delft and was sentenced on July 13 to die by torture. -
April 10: Pope Gregory XIII dies.