During the 1540’s, foreign policy became a key part for Henry.
In 1942, England went to battle with Scotland at Solway Moss even though it was later on in his reign, as he had been distracted with reformation, Scotland was a traditional enemy who was a ‘backdoor’ threat to England in times of crisis-especially as Scotland had the auld alliance with France. Therefore, Henry’s main concern was national security because before Henry could attack France, he had to neutralize Scotland otherwise England’s security was at risk, which was shown during Henry VII’s reign with the battle of Stoke. Also the Battle at Solway Moss and the Greenwich treaties opened a new opportunity to take over Scotland with the marriage of Mary to his son Prince Edward. The Greenwich treaty and the Battle at Solway Moss could be seen as prestige, because the battle showed Henry to be victorious, but it did give Henry the opportunity of a Untied Kingdom idea as Henry had the opportunity to permanently defend his national security at the North. Also the Greenwich treaty would help England’s security for the future, as there would be an alliance between England and Scotland due to the marriage. Also how can Henry really gain glory from invading Scotland, if he really did want to gain glory and prestige, it would be gained from invading a great power for example France, therefore, showing once again that Henry’s main concern when invading Scotland was national security.
When Henry invaded France in 1544, his main concern was national security as France had been a traditional enemy and invading France would be seen as a glory war, but this came second in his foreign policy, as France had threatened England with crusades in 1540’s, therefore, he had to protect his security, by striking first. Even though Henry personally captured Bologne when he invaded France, was mainly prestige, but was also in order to prove a point to his enemy that no power can threaten England’s security.
When Henry made an alliance with the Emperor Charles V in 1543 its objective was of capturing Paris, but also because having the greatest power in Europe On you side at the time, mean’t that Henry’s national security would be protected, even though it didn’t last long.
Overall, when evaluating whether prestige or national security was Henry’s main concern for his foreign policy, I would conclude that national security was his main priority. This is because England was a country on its own that was surrounded by Great powers; Francis I and Emperor Charles who could easily destroy his national security that is why he spent so much money on defence and making alliances and treaties in order to secure national security. The aspect of prestige came as a result of the actions that Henry did with the invasion of France and the Battle at Solway Moss, it wasn’t his main concern or intention
However, I wouldn’t stay that during 1529- 1547, Henry’s main concern was national security for his foreign policy, put other factors like succession came into play, because compared to the other great powers of Francis I and Emperor Charles, Henry was a minor, therefore, capturing Bologne and invading France and Scotland would improve his succession and make him into a great power. Also dependable on the situation Henry concerns for his foreign policy may have been different every time, and also his main concern for his foreign policy may have been all the factors of Great Power, Succession, prestige and National security, all together. When he invaded France it was because he would gain glory from attacking a great power, but also because he wanted to secure his national security and his succession.
