In the sixteenth century, English diplomacy developed to incorporate permanent embassies at foreign courts for the first time. Tudor diplomacy expanded from a series of ceremonial occasions into a sustained social and political activity. Funded by a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dr Tracey Sowerby will trace the consequent developments in English diplomatic practice over the course of a ‘long’ sixteenth century, as well as the effects of two issues particularly pertinent to the English context: female monarchy and state Protestantism, both of which were inherently problematic, at least initially, for English diplomats. Dr Sowerby will consider English Ambassadors’ methodology, including the instructions and equipment they were given, information gathering and notions of civility and courtly behaviour. The intellectual contacts of diplomats and their role in the transmission of technologies and social, political and religious ideas to and from England will also be analysed to elicit the true significance of this important manifestation of political culture.