An exceptionally rare painting depicting the defeat of the Spanish Armada, a naval campaign widely regarded to have changed the course of European history, is at risk of being deported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £210,000. Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism Michael Ellis has placed a temporary export bar on the The Spanish Armada in the Year 1588, by an unknown artist, to provide an opportunity to keep it in the country. Depictions of the Armada, with the inclusion of its leading historical figures, are exceptionally rare. Experts believe the painting was produced in around 1600, within a generation of the event. It shows Queen Elizabeth I watching the naval engagement, accompanied by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. This reflected her personal intervention during the military campaign, when she rallied her troops through a speech at Tilbury. In 1588 Philip II of Spain
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