In June 1519 Charles was elected Emperor; and France saw herself girt in on every side by a power whose greed was even greater than her own.

For, boy of nineteen as he was, Charles from the first moment of his rule meant to make himself master of the world; and France, thrown suddenly on the defensive, nerved herself for the coming struggle.

Both needed the gold and friendship of England.
Convinced as he was of Henry's treachery in the Imperial election, where the English sovereign had promised Francis his support, the French king clung to the alliance which Wolsey in his uncertainty as to the actual drift of Charles had concluded in 1518, and pressed for an interview with Henry himself.

But the need of France had woke dreams of more than mere safety or a balanced neutrality in Wolsey and his master.

The time seemed come at last for a bolder game.