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The presence of English diplomats at the court of archduke Albert and the infanta Isabella during the reign of king James VI/I was due to the Treaty of London (1604). William Trumbull arrived as senior secretary to Sir Thomas Edmondes, who had been appointed resident ambassador in Brussels, in May 1605 and remained behind as chargé d'affaires in the fall of 1609 when Edmondes was recalled. Soon he was appointed resident agent at the court. His tenure in Brussels was exceptionally long. Trumbull represented the English king until the fall of 1625. Jacobean diplomacy has often been neglected in historiography. The relations between the Southern Low Countries and England have often been limited to its religious dimensions. Trumbull's career and especially his correspondence saved in the National Archives (State Papers Flanders) and the British Library (the Trumbull papers) show that relations between both courts were not limited to discussions about British and Irish Catholics seeking refuge in the Catholic Low Countries. After outlining Trumbull's career as a diplomat the dissertations turns to all possible themes that figure in the diplomatic correspondence. Commercial interests, the British and Irish regiments serving the archdukes, books and pamphlets, international affairs were points of interest besides the Catholic exile community. This dissertation does not only look at each theme individually but has some questions which are put forward in each chapter. Does Trumbull take the initiative or does he await instructions? Did Trumbull's opinion have any bearing in London?