John Dudley, who has become influential during…

John Dudley, who has become influential during the later part of Henry VIII's reign because of his military skill, had been briefly Master of the Horse to Anne of Cleves, and in 1542 had been granted his grandfather's title of Viscount Lisle—after the death of his stepfather Arthur Plantagenet and "by the right of his mother".

Being now a peer, Dudley had become Lord Admiral and a Knight of the Garter in 1543; he was also admitted to the Privy Council.

He had served as Warden of the Scottish Marches in the aftermath of the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542, and in the 1544 campaign the English force under Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, had been supported by a fleet that Dudley commanded.

Dudley had joined the land force that destroyed Edinburgh, after he had blown the main gate apart with a culverin.

He is appointed in late 1544 as Governor of Boulogne, the siege of which has cost the life of his eldest son, Henry.

His task is to rebuild the fortifications to King Henry's design and to fend off French attacks by sea and land.