The dynastic diplomacy of the Princely Count of Arenberg at the Stuart court in 1603

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the diplomatic strategies used by ambassador Charles of Arenberg, sent by the Archdukes Albert and Isabella, sovereigns of the Netherlands, on an extraordinary mission to London in 1603, to congratulate King James VI & I on his accession. This mission intended to re-establish friendship relations between their courts, compromised by the Dutch Revolt and the Siege of Ostend. Arenberg crafted a Burgundian-Flemish identity, a historically familiar image, supported by the choice of men in his retinue and by the gifts he presented to the king and queen. In doing so, Arenberg himself became a gift. He was the ideal person to bridge the gaps between the Stuarts (as English monarchs) and the archducal regime in Brussels (as successors of the Burgundian dukes). Arenberg’s dynastic diplomacy in 1603 enabled the conclusion of the London peace treaty of 1604 between the Spanish, the English and the Brussels courts.