The constant unvarying and apparently unmotivated favor the king showed the duke has been accounted for by claiming he simply took a fatherly interest in the girl.

[2] Don Alonso made no serious effort to save his mother-in-law Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Éboli from the later persecution she suffered at the hands of Philip II.

The motivation of Philip's decision is unknown, but it may have been grounded in his consideration of the duke's very high social rank, administrative competence, modesty and tactfulness, and last but not least his reputation as a good Catholic.

What general opinion of the duke may have been is unrecorded, but it is known that skepticism regarding the Armada's prospects existed among senior Spanish officers and informed foreign commentators.

The distribution of cannons and ammunition was rationalized, and Medina Sidonia got permission from Philip to lodge some of his men ashore; prior to that, the king had insisted that the sailors be kept aboard their ships at all times, a policy which had a disastrous effect on the health and morale of the fleet.

Medina Sidonia managed to establish good relationships with his subordinate commanders, and gathered additional supplies right up to the moment of sailing.

Lacking military experience, he showed little initiative or self-confidence, instead cautiously obeying the instructions of the king, and relying on the opinion of his advisers and subordinate commanders.

This tendency was reinforced by the senior adviser appointed to him by the king, Diego Flores de Valdes, an experienced sea officer but also a man renowned for his caution.

Medina Sidonia also seriously underestimated the difficulty of coordinating his actions with the commander of the Spanish forces in the Netherlands, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was supposed to launch his invasion fleet to meet the Armada at sea.

Informed commentators and modern historians have put most of the blame on Philip II himself for imposing an impractical plan on his commanders, and on Diego Flores de Valdes for badly advising the duke.

This story became a lasting part of popular descriptions of the battle, in which the Duke of Medinia Sidonia was frequently portrayed as an incompetent buffoon.