Today is International Day of Women in Diplomacy! #emdiplomacy was by no means an all male affaire. Women played a central role not only in mainting contacts to the queen's court and other female actors. They could also directly take part in negotiations, as the example of the Ladies' Peace of Cambrai (1529) shows. Here Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy negotiated for the Emperor and the king of France respectively.
If you want to know more, have a look at the #handbook article by Carolyn James who talks about female diplomatic actors.
