In 1507 Wolsey went to work for Henry the VII and became his Royal Chaplain. When Henry VIII rose to power, Wolsey’s organizational skills, amongst other skills, had him placed on the King's Privy Council. In 1514 he was made the Bishop of Lincoln and shortly thereafter Archbishop of York. He was made a cardinal in 1515. He was a powerful diplomat in King Henry VIII's court. His Treaty of London which was signed at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold" with France was impressive, even if the treaty only lasted at best one year.

Wolsey was also very good at discrediting or otherwise destroying rivals in court. He helped obtain annulments and other papal dispensation for King Henry VIII. However, when he failed to get the annulment from Catherine of Aragon, the King and his new wife (Anne Boleyn), accused the now Papal Legate Wolsey of treason. He died of illness while being transported to his trial.