Robert Dudley, The Earl of Leicester was sent to the United Provinces in 1585 with a dignitary party and took the offer of Governor of the United Provinces. This, however, was met with fury from Elizabeth who had expressed no desire for any sovereignty over the Dutch. An English mercenary army had been present since the beginning of the war and was then under the command of veteran Sir John Norreys. They combined forces but were undermanned and under financed, and faced one of the most powerful armies in Europe led by the famed Alexander Farnese, the Duke of Parma.