ABSTRACT
W hen the ceremonies attendant upon the marriage, the progress to London and the solemn entry there on 18 August had been com pleted, and the participants suitably rewarded by the king, the majority of the English nobility withdrew temporarily to their estates. ‘At pres ent,’ wrote Soranzo on the day of the entry, ‘the bishop of Winches ter has the management of everything’,1 and his judgement is con firmed by the fact that Paget was one of those to withdraw. However, the latter had not been idle, nor unsuccessful in his bid for rehabilita tion. Renard’s attempts to brand his erstwhile ally as a heretic and intriguer were already rebounding painfully upon the ambassador’s head. Ruy Gomez, who had such a low opinion of Renard’s abilities, was inclined to give Paget whatever credit there was for bringing the marriage to a successful consummation, and his voice carried weight both with Philip and in Brussels.2
