and recovery. Later that year, George was appointed Esquire of the Body and Master of the Buckhounds in 1528. Throughout the late 1520s grants continued to be bestowed upon him. On 15 November 1528 he became keeper of the Palace of Beaulieu and on 1 February 1529 was appointed chief steward of Beaulieu (later in October 1533 he would be granted a life interest in the Palace). On 29 July 1529 he was appointed Governor of Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam), which was a profitable sinecure. George's diplomatic career took off in late 1529 when he was knighted and regained his former position as a member of the Privy chamber. It was also in December 1529 that he became known by the courtesy title of Viscount Rochford when his father was created Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond, and undertook his first assignment as a diplomat to France as ambassador. Because of his youth, (he was only 25), it is believed that Anne's influence secured him this post, although there is no evidence that he lacked the ability to undertake the role. The French ambassador, Jean du Bellay, commented that George was considerably younger than many of the other foreign diplomats and that the appointment of a man barely out of his teens would cause amusement. But he also goes on to say that George should be shown more honour than was ordinarily necessary, and that his reception would be well weighted. Irrespective of his age, George quickly established a good relationship with King Francis I of France and did well in his first embassy. George attended a total of six foreign embassies to France. The first was between late October 1529 and late February 1530. George attended with John Stokesley, the Dean of the Chapel Royal. Their mission was to encourage the universities of France to support Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The universities' response was initially negative, but George encouraged King Francis to write a strong letter in favour of the divorce, which was later used to reverse the universities' decision. The second was in March 1533 when he informed the King of France of his sister's marriage to the King of England. George was also instructed to encourage Francis into giving Henry more support, and following a lengthy debate George succeeded in obtaining a letter from Francis asking the Pope to concede to Henry's wishes. Not