Editing Thomas Wolsey (section)

===Papal legate===
The death of [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]], Henry VIII's father-in-law and England's closest ally, in 1516 was a further blow. Ferdinand was succeeded by [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], who immediately proposed peace with France. After Maximilian I's death in 1519, Charles was elected in his stead; thus Charles ruled a substantial portion of Europe and English influence became limited on the continent.

But Wolsey managed to assert English influence by other means. In 1517, [[Pope Leo X]] sought peace in Europe to form a crusade against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. In 1518 Wolsey was made [[Papal Legate]] in England, enabling him to realise Leo's desire for peace by organising the [[Treaty of London (1518)|Treaty of London]]. The treaty showed Wolsey as the arbiter of Europe, organising a massive peace summit involving 20 nations. This put England at the forefront of European diplomacy and drew her out of isolation, making her a desirable ally. This is well illustrated by the Anglo-French treaty signed two days afterwards. It was partly this peace treaty that caused conflict between France and Spain. In 1519, when Charles V ascended to the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor, King Francis I of France was infuriated. He had invested enormous sums in bribing the electorate to elect him emperor, and thus used the Treaty of London as a justification for the Habsburg-Valois conflict. Wolsey appeared to act as mediator between the two powers, both of which were vying for England's support.{{sfn|Gwyn|2011|pp=58–103}}