Continental King Grant to Delvin
Philip and Mary ruled not only as King and Queen of England and Ireland but also as continental monarchs through
Philip, who was simultaneously King of Spain, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Duke of Milan, Lord of the
Netherlands, and sovereign over the vast Spanish Empire in the Americas and Asia—making their joint reign one of
the most globally expansive in European history.
During their rule (1554–1558), they issued a crucial royal confirmation and restitution to Richard Nugent, 13th
Baron Delvin, restoring all the estates, manors, and jurisdictions previously held by his father, including the
important Annaly (County Longford) lands of Abbeyderg, Killashee, Rathcline, Ballymahon, Taghshinny, Lisserdowle,
Castlerichard, Moate, Kilbride, and the dependent religious and palatine privileges once belonging to Fore
Abbey.
This joint act constitutes a unique dual grant, because the authority emanated from a sovereign pair in which
Mary acted as the legitimate hereditary Queen of England and Ireland, while Philip acted simultaneously as a fully
crowned continental monarch—King of Spain, Naples, and Sicily—whose royal seal and prerogatives were recognized
throughout Europe. Thus, the restoration to Baron Delvin carries the rare distinction of being made under the
united authority of an English sovereign and a reigning continental king, giving the grant an unparalleled breadth
of legitimacy, prestige, and international royal authority not found in any typical single-monarch English patent.
These lands represent the heart of medieval Annaly (County Longford).
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