{"id":12914,"date":"2024-03-14T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/?p=12914"},"modified":"2025-03-20T11:19:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T11:19:45","slug":"helena-marchioness-of-northampton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2024\/03\/14\/helena-marchioness-of-northampton\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth I\u2019s Swedish lady of the privy chamber: Helena Ulfsdotter n\u00e9e Snakenborg, marchioness of Northampton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As we mark Women’s History Month throughout March<\/em>, here Dr Andrew Thrush<\/a>, editor of our Lords 1558-1603<\/a> project, looks into the life of Helena Snakenborg. How did this Swedish native become key figure in the court of Elizabeth I?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking features of Queen Elizabeth I\u2019s funeral, held on 28 April 1603, is that the place of Chief Mourner in the procession was taken by Helena, dowager marchioness of Northampton, a member of the privy chamber. Despite having served Elizabeth for the past thirty-six years, Helena was not English-born but a native of Sweden.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in about 1549, Helena (or \u2018Elin\u2019 as she signed herself before she settled in England) was the daughter of Ulf Henrikson Snakenborg, member of an old Swedish baronial family, and Agneta Knutson, also of aristocratic stock. Helena\u2019s parents enjoyed considerable standing in Sweden. In fact, their marriage five years earlier had been held at Stockholm Castle, in the presence of the king and queen. Not surprisingly, by the mid-1560s their daughter Helena was a maid of honour to Princess Cecilia, sister to the then king of Sweden, Eric XIV.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Portrait<\/a>
Portrait of a young woman by an unknown artist, 1569. Almost certainly Helena Snakenborg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In September 1565 Helena, aged about 16, accompanied the princess on a fruitless mission to England to persuade Queen Elizabeth to marry King Eric. Cecilia and her entourage were lodged at Bedford House, on the Strand, where they were visited by leading members of the English court. Among the more regular callers was the 53-year old William Parr, marquess of Northampton, the childless brother of Elizabeth I\u2019s late stepmother, Queen Catherine Parr. In all likelihood, Northampton was a keen exponent of a Swedish match, just like his second wife, Elizabeth Brooke (daughter of William Brooke, 10th Lord Cobham), who had died of breast cancer five months earlier. However, concern for the queen\u2019s marriage was not the only reason Northampton was drawn to Bedford House. The marquess soon began to take an interest in Helena\u2019s welfare, beginning with arranging for her medical treatment, as she was ill by the time she arrived in England. Despite the age difference Northampton fell in love with Helena, who was reportedly \u2018very beautiful\u2019. Before the year was out Helena accepted Northampton\u2019s offer of marriage. However, as a letter to her mother makes clear, Helena\u2019s feelings were affectionate rather than amorous: \u2018the marquess has been both father and mother to me\u2019, she explained, and \u2018most kind in every detail\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Princess Cecilia\u2019s departure for the Continent in May 1566, Helena remained in England, cared for by eight or ten of Northampton\u2019s servants. However, the planned marriage was placed on hold because of the queen\u2019s disapproval. Though Northampton was now a widower following the death of his second wife Elizabeth Brooke, his adulterous first wife, Anne Bourchier, was still alive. In 1548 a royal commission, headed by Archbishop Cranmer, had concluded that Anne\u2019s unfaithfulness had ended their union. However, the queen disagreed, oddly, as she never challenged the legitimacy of Northampton\u2019s marriage to Elizabeth Brooke, with whom she was great friends. For the queen, there could be no question of Northampton marrying Helena until Anne was dead. When, in November 1566, Northampton joined the chorus of voices demanding that she take a husband, Elizabeth retorted that the marquess would be better advised thinking of arguments to persuade her to let him remarry \u2018instead of mincing words with her\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helena and Northampton finally reached the altar on 6 May 1571, four months after Anne\u2019s death. The ceremony was held in the Chapel Royal, and the queen danced at the wedding feast, which was followed by two days of jousting. However, the marriage proved to be short-lived, as Northampton died just five months later. Northampton\u2019s demise threatened to spell disaster for Helena, as the marquess had neglected to provide his new wife with a jointure, and his entire estate, worth about \u00a31,200 per annum<\/em>, escheated to the crown. Fortunately for Helena, Queen Elizabeth took pity on the marquess\u2019 young widow. She not only paid for Northampton\u2019s funeral but also assigned Helena lands worth \u00a3400 a year. Additionally, at some point Helena was admitted to the privy chamber. Perhaps because of this Helena met the man who was soon to become her second husband, Thomas Gorges. Thirteen years her senior, Gorges was a Wiltshire landowner and one of the grooms of the privy chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Helena<\/a>
Portrait by Robert Peake the elder of Helena in the robes worn at the coronation of James I and Anne of Denmark in July 1603.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The social gulf between Gorges and Helena, who continued to be known as the marchioness of Northampton, was considerable. It was not unknown for women of a high social rank to marry beneath them. In fact, before Elizabeth\u2019s accession Katherine Brandon, dowager duchess of Suffolk<\/a> had taken Richard Bertie, a Lincolnshire gentleman, as her second husband. However, the queen looked askance at such matches. Realizing that Elizabeth would never agree to their marriage, the couple took matters into their own hands and sometime in 1576 they were secretly wed. When the queen discovered this she was naturally furious. Helena was banished to Gorges\u2019 house in the Whitefriars, while Gorges himself was jailed. However, Elizabeth\u2019s anger eventually subsided and within a year or so she had become reconciled to the match. In January 1578 she and Gorges exchanged New Year gifts; six months later, Elizabeth stood as godmother at the baptism of the couple\u2019s first child, prudently christened Elizabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helena retained Queen Elizabeth\u2019s favour for the rest of the reign. Formally, at least, her duties were limited, partly because she was an unwaged member of the privy chamber but also because of her gender. Behind the scenes, though, she may have been more active than has previously been supposed. In 1582 her husband was dispatched to Sweden on a mission to recover certain debts owed by the Swedish king, John III. There is no evidence that Helena remained in England. Her presence in Sweden may have been considered essential, as Gorges would not have been selected for this delicate mission had it not been for his wife\u2019s intimate knowledge of the Swedish court. Helena can certainly be glimpsed alongside her husband in September 1586, when Gorges was entrusted with the task of conveying Mary, Queen of Scots from Chartley to Tixall, both in Staffordshire. Mary, fearing that her plotting against Elizabeth had been discovered, reportedly \u2018raged and stormed, and showered invectives on Gorges and his mistress<\/em>\u2019. That same year, Gorges became responsible for the queen\u2019s robes. It seems unlikely that Helena did not share in her husband\u2019s official duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Elizabeth\u2019s death, Helena lost her position at court. This cannot have been entirely unexpected, especially as Anne, the new queen consort, was Danish, and Denmark and Sweden were longstanding enemies. Nevertheless, in 1605 Helena and her husband were granted the keepership of Richmond Park for life. On the death of Gorges in 1610, Helena largely retired from public view. She lived on until April 1635, dying at Redlynch, in Somerset, the home of her youngest son Sir Robert Gorges, who sat in three parliaments during the late 1620s. At her request, Helena was buried alongside \u2018my dear and late husband Sir Thomas Gorges\u2019 in Salisbury Cathedral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.T<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reading<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Angell Bradford, Helena, Marchioness of Northampton<\/em> (London, 1936)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raymond Gorges, The Story of a family through eleven centuries illustrated by portraits and pedigrees, being a history of the family of Gorges<\/em> (Boston, 1944)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we mark Women’s History Month throughout March, here Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 project, looks into the life of Helena Snakenborg. How did this Swedish native become key figure in the court of Elizabeth I? One of the most striking features of Queen Elizabeth I\u2019s funeral, held on 28 April 1603, is that the place of Chief Mourner in the procession … Continue reading Elizabeth I\u2019s Swedish lady of the privy chamber: Helena Ulfsdotter n\u00e9e Snakenborg, marchioness of Northampton<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214198051,"featured_media":12927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[720013330,103464271,774275564,774275534,1450539],"tags":[693583945,35890,120225419,68505609,105715525,97077],"class_list":["post-12914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-first-elizabethan-age","category-16th-century-history","category-elizabeth-i","category-tudor","category-women-and-parliament","tag-elizabethan-lords","tag-featured","tag-helena-snakenborg","tag-privy-chamber","tag-william-parr","tag-womens-history"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/helena_snakenborg_marchioness_of_northampton_1603.jpg?fit=556%2C898&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QYNW-3mi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7763,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2021\/08\/10\/henry-howard-earl-of-northampton\/","url_meta":{"origin":12914,"position":0},"title":"The Great Survivor: Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, 1540-1614","author":"Andrew Thrush","date":"August 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In today's blog we hear from Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 project, on the elusive career of Henry Howard, earl of Northampton. Howard's shrewd political manoeuvres allowed him to evade attention from government officials throughout his career and often evade attention from historians- until now! In medieval\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The First Elizabethan Age"","block_context":{"text":"The First Elizabethan Age","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/the-first-elizabethan-age\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/at-henry_howard_earl_of_northampton-july-2021.jpg?fit=656%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/at-henry_howard_earl_of_northampton-july-2021.jpg?fit=656%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/at-henry_howard_earl_of_northampton-july-2021.jpg?fit=656%2C954&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4080,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2020\/01\/30\/new-elizabethan-house-of-lords-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":12914,"position":1},"title":"New project: the Elizabethan House of Lords","author":"Andrew Thrush","date":"January 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A new year at the History of Parliament Trust sees the start of a new project. Research on the House of Lords 1558-1603 will complement our Commons project during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I by exploring the members of the upper chamber. Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of the project,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The First Elizabethan Age"","block_context":{"text":"The First Elizabethan Age","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/the-first-elizabethan-age\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/elizabeth-i-coronation-robes-e1580392255356.jpg?fit=707%2C696&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/elizabeth-i-coronation-robes-e1580392255356.jpg?fit=707%2C696&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/elizabeth-i-coronation-robes-e1580392255356.jpg?fit=707%2C696&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/elizabeth-i-coronation-robes-e1580392255356.jpg?fit=707%2C696&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11847,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2023\/08\/24\/what-if-elizabeth-i-had-died-in-1562\/","url_meta":{"origin":12914,"position":2},"title":"What if Elizabeth I had Died in 1562?","author":"Andrew Thrush","date":"August 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"It is easy to take the long reign of Elizabeth I for granted. But less than four years after Elizabeth ascended the throne, her life was nearly cut short, threatening to bring down the curtain on the Tudor dynasty. What might have ensued is explored by Dr Andrew Thrush, editor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The First Elizabethan Age"","block_context":{"text":"The First Elizabethan Age","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/the-first-elizabethan-age\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/painting-of-lady-katherine-grey.jpg?fit=1200%2C1186&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/painting-of-lady-katherine-grey.jpg?fit=1200%2C1186&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/painting-of-lady-katherine-grey.jpg?fit=1200%2C1186&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/painting-of-lady-katherine-grey.jpg?fit=1200%2C1186&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/painting-of-lady-katherine-grey.jpg?fit=1200%2C1186&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12600,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2023\/12\/28\/henry-fitzalan\/","url_meta":{"origin":12914,"position":3},"title":"The man who would be king (-consort): Henry Fitzalan, earl of Arundel","author":"Andrew Thrush","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many of the leading figures at the Elizabethan court, like the queen\u2019s chief minister, William Cecil, Lord Burghley and the royal favourite Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, need no introduction. However, there were many other prominent men at the Elizabethan court, some of whom remain obscure even to Elizabethan historians.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The First Elizabethan Age"","block_context":{"text":"The First Elizabethan Age","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/the-first-elizabethan-age\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/henry-fitzalan-12th-earl-of-arundel-hans-eworth-1550-berger-collection-denver-colorado.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/henry-fitzalan-12th-earl-of-arundel-hans-eworth-1550-berger-collection-denver-colorado.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/henry-fitzalan-12th-earl-of-arundel-hans-eworth-1550-berger-collection-denver-colorado.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/henry-fitzalan-12th-earl-of-arundel-hans-eworth-1550-berger-collection-denver-colorado.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/henry-fitzalan-12th-earl-of-arundel-hans-eworth-1550-berger-collection-denver-colorado.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7907,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2021\/08\/26\/elizabethan-house-of-lords\/","url_meta":{"origin":12914,"position":4},"title":"What did the Elizabethan House of Lords look like?","author":"Paul Hunneyball","date":"August 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This might seem like a simple question but, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 project explains, the answer is anything but straightforward\u2026 In 21st-century Britain, we take it for granted that we know what our parliamentary chambers look like. At Westminster, both the House of Commons and House\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The First Elizabethan Age"","block_context":{"text":"The First Elizabethan Age","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/the-first-elizabethan-age\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ph-images-of-the-lords-elizabeth-i-simonds-dewes.jpg?fit=715%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ph-images-of-the-lords-elizabeth-i-simonds-dewes.jpg?fit=715%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ph-images-of-the-lords-elizabeth-i-simonds-dewes.jpg?fit=715%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ph-images-of-the-lords-elizabeth-i-simonds-dewes.jpg?fit=715%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11538,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2023\/06\/29\/first-accession-council\/","url_meta":{"origin":12914,"position":5},"title":"The First Accession Council","author":"Ben Coates","date":"June 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In modern Britain, the death of a monarch has little political impact; the work of government continues uninterrupted, apart from a period of official mourning. But four centuries ago, when the king or queen actually ran the government, the situation was more complicated, as Dr Ben Coates of our Lords\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stuart"","block_context":{"text":"Stuart","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/periods\/stuart\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/henry_percy-9th_earl_of_northumberland-1.jpg?fit=859%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/henry_percy-9th_earl_of_northumberland-1.jpg?fit=859%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/henry_percy-9th_earl_of_northumberland-1.jpg?fit=859%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/henry_percy-9th_earl_of_northumberland-1.jpg?fit=859%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214198051"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12914"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14099,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12914\/revisions\/14099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}