Final Years: 1540–1547
Henry's foreign policy had played second fiddle to domestic concerns about his wives in preceding years, with Charles distracted by the internal politics of his many kingdoms and external threats and Henry and Francis on relatively good terms. However, when Charles and Francis made peace in January 1539, Henry became increasingly apprehensive. Cromwell as spymaster supplied Henry with a constant list of threats to the kingdom (real or imaginary, weak or serious), and Henry was increasingly paranoid in their wake. Enriched by the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry used some of his reserves into building a series of coastal defences and some aside for the expected Franco-German invasion.
However, the alliance between Francis and Charles soon soured, and degenerated to war. With Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn now dead, relations between Charles and Henry improved considerably and Henry decided to enter the Italian War in favour of his new ally. An invasion was planned for 1543. In preparation for it, Henry lured Scottish forces south into the area around Carlisle before defeating them in the Battle of Solway Moss. Although Henry's plans for Scotland's new queen, Mary, to marry his son Edward failed despite the signing of the Treaty of Greenwich, Scotland was indeed kept out the French war. Henry's hesitation on his French invasion annoyed Charles, however. Henry's own invasion in June 1544 successfully captured Montreuil and Boulogne successfully besieged. Charles' efforts were unsuccessful, and, irritated by Henry, he made peace with the French. Henry was left alone against France, unable to agree a peace deal; England was once again placed under threat of invasion. When it came, however, it was a fiasco that brought France to the negotiating table. Signing the Treaty of Camp, Henry secured Boulogne for eight years, after which the French would get it back if 2 million crowns were paid, or £750,000. Henry's motivation was now financial; the 1544 campaign had cost £650,000 and England was once again bankrupt. Henry still clung to the Treaty of Greenwich, which the Scottish rejected; whether the countries were at war or not remained unclear up to Henry's death.
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