Despite the misgivings of the East India Company about the potential downsides of the mission, the company was compelled by the government to fund the effort. Dundas and Macartney prioritised national interests over those of the company, which feared the loss of its monopoly position, and the possibility that the embassy would strain diplomatic relations instead of improving them. By sending a direct representative of the British crown, British politician and later Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville reasoned that the mission would be given greater attention than if it had been sent "only in the name of a trading company".