The ‘diplomatic masculinity’ of Henry VIII

Abstract

This article examines the place of royal masculinity in the conduct of Henry VIII’s international relations with his two principal rivals, Francis I of France and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. It argues that while strategic considerations evidently drove the conduct of his warfare and diplomacy with Continental rulers, those strategic considerations were themselves often informed by his wish to enhance his reputation as a man before other male rulers. While historians now routinely link gender and diplomacy in their accounts of female rulers, the significance of masculinity as a force in the diplomacy of early modern kings awaits fuller articulation. Henry was a monarch whose masculinity directly informed his interactions with his fellow European kings.