The foreign policy and domestic government of any sovereign state can never be divorced and understood in isolation. Together they constitute the broader subject of national policy. This is particularly true, as we have seen, of Caroline England. Charles's policies came to form an overall pattern which politically and ideologically, had its internal logic. This chapter examines the way in which English policy interacted with the international scene and, to this end, treats English foreign policy as a subject in itself. This was a momentous period of the Thirty Years War. The recovery of Protestant fortunes, after terrible reverses at the hands of the Habsburgs, meant that by 1632 the balance of forces could be said to be even. English policy exemplified the tension between interventionist and isolationist policies in Europe at this time. England's withdrawal from the war was critical in the reorientation of Protestant alliances and the erection of Richelieu's new anti-Habsburg coalition.

How was English foreign policy formulated during this era? One, and frequently both, Secretaries of State conducted diplomatic correspondence under the oversight of the king and the Council's committee for foreign affairs, which consistently reviewed despatches. Yet with the political eclipse of the Council, the roles of individual ministers were more important than conciliar deliberation. Conflict over policy led to secret and competing lines of diplomatic communication. Thus the distinction between official and unofficial channels is often difficult to draw. As Secretary, Dorchester was responsible for the royal foreign correspondence. In addition, he operated a system of diplomatic and military patronage among Charles's subjects serving in the Protestant countries of northern Europe.