Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > Queenship and Counsel in Early Modern Europe > Status Update

‘22 June 1610 Arbella Stuart went ahead with a secret marriage to William Seymour which James had expressly forbidden, she looked to Anna to intercede on her behalf with the king. Anna sent countless letters to James imploring him to look on Arbella with sympathy and leniency. In the end her counsel had little effect and following Arbella’s attempt to escape to the continent she was imprisoned in the Tower of London'

‘Anne of Denmark was the first queen consort in England since 1547, the last had been Katherine Parr, and the first queen consort of “Great Britain”. She therefore occupied a position (in theory at least) as the figure at court closest to the king, and was the mother of the heir to the throne. Given her family heritage, she also had a keen sense of her own royalty.'

‘There was much that was true in Walsingham’s self-presentation. He did believe that his advice was the most beneficial for Elizabeth and England. The problem was that Elizabeth did not always agree. Walsingham usually conflated the interests of England and Elizabeth with the interests of international Protestantism, in contrast to Elizabeth’s notorious reluctance to play the role of Deborah.'

'Significantly, her privy councillor appointments were the same privy council who had served her mother as regent, prior to her overthrow. Jenny Wormald criticises Mary for not bringing new blood into her privy council. In fact, Mary pointedly chose those same magnates who had then gone on to lead the October 1559 rebellion that overthrew her regent, because Mary could then hold them accountable.'

'The decision to entrust the 1529 negotiations to Louise and Margaret was regarded by the Imperial side as largely a matter of face-saving for Francis. He could leave his mother to make concessions and, if need be, let her take the blame for decisions taken without his knowledge. The peace could be done in “no honourable or convenient” way than by the ladies in question.'

'the necessity of appearing steadfastly loyal to her husband in public, while in private engaging in a more nuanced, conciliar relationship that balanced loyalty to her husband with that to her natal family, thereby fulfilling the consort’s complex and challenging role. From her female attendants Mary directly received wisdom and counsel, and from her brother the king and his advisers Mary received instructions'

'Extant correspondence makes plain the seriousness with which Mary took her role as queen, encompassing as it did the role of quasi-diplomatic agent of her brother, Henry. Mary’s correspondence and that of the English ambassadors resident during her time in France highlight not only Mary’s strategies for providing counsel, but also crucially the necessity of retaining the support of her English female attendants'

‘Catherine encouraged her father to use gifts to repair his diplomatic relationship with England in 1515, when Ferdinand sent Henry VIII a jewelled collar, two horses and a sword in an effort to gain his help against the French. Both the Venetian ambassador and Henry’s adviser, Thomas Wolsey, regarded these gifts as expensive bribes to obtain English aid.‘

‘Catherine continued to advocate for the Anglo-Spanish alliance, but years of near-failures and disappointments on Ferdinand’s side had made her realise that the alliance must serve both England and Spain’s interests. When, in 1514, Henry VIII broke away from his alliance with Spain and concluded a peace deal with Louis XII of France, Catherine chose to support her husband.’

‘Catherine was unusually experienced as counsellor because of her early involvement in Spanish diplomacy after the death of her first husband... The drawn-out conflict over her second marriage encouraged Catherine to become more involved in the diplomacy that would dictate her fate. In 1507 she became her father’s accredited ambassador to the English court, in part to advocate for her own marriage’