By 1572, there was no doubt that Spain had become an enemy to England rather than an ally that it was considered to be in 1553 when England and Spain were linked by the marriage of Mary and Philip. This was down to a number of reasons.

From the very beginning of her reign, Mary was aware of the necessity of producing an heir to ensure the restoration of Catholicism would be continued once she was gone. In order to produce an heir, she would need to find herself a husband. England had a long history of friendly relations with Spain (for example an alliance was forged by Henry VII and continued under Henry VIII), but the Privy Council though it to be unwise for Mary to marry Philip. They believed the marriage would be unpopular with those objecting Catholicism as it was suspected that England could become a pawn in Spanish ambitions to dominate Europe. On the contrary, the marriage would safeguard England as any heir Mary and Philip may have produced would have inherited the Netherlands and England. This could potentially become a secure and substantial empire; therefore at this point in time, Spain was an ally to England.

However, Spain was soon to become much less of an ally to England, demonstrated by Philip’s actions soon after their marriage. He only visited England in 1556, when he wanted England to join Spain in war with France in 1557. Spain had already defeated France when England captured St Quentin and the war soon led to England losing its last foothold in Europe - Calais. St Quentin was handed straight over to Spain, confirming the Privy Council’s fears that England would become a pawn to Spain, and that the alliance would have no benefit to England. Further evidence of this includes when Mary died, Philip no longer fought for Calais to be returned to England; thus supporting the notion that Spain...
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