The cardinal protector of England was an appointed crown-cardinal of England from 1492 until 1539. A cardinal protector is the representative of a Catholic nation or organization within the College of Cardinals, appointed by the pope. The role was terminated during the English Reformation. The role of national protectorships within the College developed during the fifteenth century, due to developments in the emergence of national monarchies and Renaissance diplomacy. Cardinal protectors of Roman Catholic religious orders date back farther to the thirteenth century. According to Henry VIII of England, the cardinal protector "indueth as it were our owne Person, for the defence of Us and our Realme in al matiers [in the Curia]...touching the same". The cardinal protector represented the monarch in consistory, especially in cases where the right of investiture was divided between the pope and monarch, and led the English diplomatic corps in Rome. Although prior cardinals had filled similar roles, "the existence of national protectorships was first openly and regularly recognized only" by Pope Julius II.