‘The Field of Cloth of Gold’ is the name given by history to the spectacular meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I near Calais in the summer of 1520. Named for its conspicuous use of this most costly of fabrics, the event was essentially a tournament, but it was a by-word for extravagance in every sense: its sumptuous display, its lavish entertainments, the huge cast of courtiers and attendants who accompanied the two monarchs, and the spectacular encampment erected to stage it. Its huge costs and the poverty of its legacy in terms of long-term political outcomes have led many to dismiss it as the epitome of self-indulgent wastefulness. Yet to do so is to miss an important point: that its intention was to seal a lasting peace between traditional adversaries, that preserved honour and equality on both sides. This was only possible within the context of the doctrine of magnificence, which required conspicuous expenditure on a massive scale. But compared with the cost of war, in both human and financial terms, this was modest.

Long-lasting peace was a worthy and Christian aspiration. But it was undermined by the facts that Henry and Francis had never met before and did not entirely trust one another; add to that the facts that they were both relatively young, ambitious and ‘greedy for glory’ and it became inevitable that they should be rivals. One of Francis's first acts as king in 1515 was to propose a meeting. But there were impediments, not least the unresolved dispute over Mary's dowry after Louis XII's death. Relations warmed following the Treaty of London in 1518 and in the following April Henry became godfather to the duc d’Orleans. Sir Thomas Boleyn was dispatched to stand proxy at the christening, presenting the child with the traditional gifts of a gold salt, cup and layer. But the death of the emperor early in 1519, and the ensuing election for his successor, in which Francis and Henry both had a keen interest, again put things on hold. The election's eventual resolution in favour of Charles Habsburg finally cleared the air and in early 1520 planning for the meeting began in earnest.