Helena, Marchioness of Northampton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marchioness Elin Ulfsdotter Snakenborg, baptismal name also rendered Helena (c 1549 - 10 April 1635) was a Swedish-born noblewoman and one of important, closest aides and courtiers of queen Elizabeth I of England. She was titular Marchioness of Northampton.
She was born in Sweden, as Elin Ulfsdotter of Fyllingarum, presumably in the province of Ostrogothia, in either 1548 or 1549, as a younger daughter of Ulf Henriksson, lord of Fyllingarum (d. c. 1565), a High Councillor of Sweden, and his wife Agneta Knutsdotter, heiress of Norrnes. Her father was a supporter of Gustav I, king of Sweden. By all accounts, Helena was a beautiful woman, with large brown eyes, red hair, and a perfect pink and white complexion. Her character has been attributed with strong will and independent mind.
Helena (Elin) had two brothers and three sisters who survived childhood and had own children. She was baptized namesake of her paternal grandmother, Elin Ulfsdotter of the Norwegian house of Sudreim, and her paternal grandfather's gramdmother, another Elin Snakenborg. The name Snakenborg was taken from from Helena's paternal grandfather's paternal grandmother, the said Elin Henriksdotter Snakenborg, whose patrilineal ancestors were originally from Mecklenburg. Also Helena's mother seems to have been a descendant of Agnes of Borgarsyssel, natural daughter of Haakon V of Norway.
Contrary to in some genealogies presented claims, marchioness Helena's ancestry has not been able to be proven to include medieval Viking earls of Orkney. And contrary to claims in some genealogies, she seems to have not descended from the sister of St.Bridget of Sweden.
Helena was one of six young Swedish noble ladies who were noble maidens in the retinue of Cecilia of Sweden, Margravine of Baden, second-eldest daughter of king Gustav I. Helena's mother had not been eager to let her young daughter to travel abroad, but was persuaded by Cecilia, and Helena herself. Cecilia and her retinue departed Sweden in Autumn 1564 on a voyage to England, at invitation of queen Elizabeth I. It was rumoured that Cecilia decided to visit England to revive the suit of her half-brother king Eric XIV of Sweden to marry Elizabeth I who also was a heroine to Cecilia. Because Denmark-Norway was hostile towards Swedes, they had to take a roundabout, land route. They travelled through Finland, Livonia, Poland and Germany, which took lots of time, until Calais. The party is also reported to have been hampered by bad weather, and the last leg by seasickness. All in all, it took almost a year of them to reach their destination - they arrived only on 8 September 1565 to Dover. Cecilia of Baden was at the time pregnant in the ninth month. The welcoming party at Dover was led by sir William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton (1513-1571), the only surviving son of sir Thomas Parr of Kendal, and brother of the late Queen Katherine.
In London they settled at Bedford House. On their arrival many prominent members of English nobility received the party, including soon the queen regnant. Helena Snakenborg caught the interest of the elderly Marquess of Northampton, who soon started to woo her. Lord Northampton presented Helena with many extravagant gifts such as clothes and jewels, and (according to reports) 'being an impressionable and romantic young girl, Helena was swept off her feet by the experienced older man'. Other assessments have pointed that Helena seems to have understood the advantages of a rich, aged husband, and possible wealthy widowhood in near future. Helena's letters to home talk about the wealth, high rank, court position and might of her suitor, but not about his agedness nor personal character.
Margravine Cecilia, reportedly a wastrel, gathered large debts because of her lavish lifestyle. Having found it desirable to flee her debts, she left England in April 1566 in order to escape her creditors. Meanwhile, queen Elizabeth seems to have become friends with Helena, though there was a difference of about 15 years in the two women's ages. Cecilia wanted to take Helena with her, but the young lady, reportedly enjoying life in England and having ensnared the wealthy Marquess, was not interested in departing. Helena's keen wish to remain was granted through influence of queen Elizabeth, who reportedly was attached to the Parr family, the Marquess' sister Katherine Parr, last queen of Henry VIII, having been Elizabeth's stepmother and fosterer in queen's youth. Marquess William was reportedly like an uncle to the queen.
Lord Northampton hoped to marry Helena but was prevented from doing so because his first, though divorced, wife Anne Bourchier, heiress of Essex, yet lived. They had divorced in 1551, but English church was not permissible of new marriages of divorced persons until the divorced spouse was dead.
Queen Elizabeth was fond of young Helena and appointed her a Maid of Honour from about 1567, before promoting her to gentlewoman of the royal privy chamber. Particularly the latter position was highly respected and at the heart of the court. Helena became one the queen's most intimate aides and controlled access to the queen. It has been reported that fairly often, it was Helena's task to warm up the cold bed (as beds were in those days in castles) for the queen, which is why Helena is sometimes mentioned as "bed partner" of the queen.
Helena was granted many privileges, such as her own lodgings at the Hampton Palace, servants, and a horse. However, she was not a waged member of the privy chamber and it is not known how regularly she attended the royal court.
Because Anne Bourchier died on 26 January 1571, Northampton and Helena were finally able to marry. The wedding took place in May 1571 in Elizabeth's presence in the queen's closet at Whitehall Palace with pomp and circumstance. The bride was twenty-two and the groom fifty-seven. It has been estimated that Helena thus became the second lady in rank in England, being sort of step-aunt to the Queen Regnant. They seemed happy together and divided their time between their houses in Guildford, Surrey, and at Stanstead Hall, Essex. The marriage came to a sudden end within a few months when the marquess died on 28 October 1571. There were no children. The Dowager Marchioness Helena had received a substantial dower. According to English custom, as widow of a peer whose title went extinct, she enjoyed the title of Marchioness for the rest of her life, despite her new marriage. Helena seems to have been also known as the "Good Lady Marquess".
Fairly soon marchioness Helena captivated another admirer, Thomas Gorges, of Langford, a second cousin of the late Anne Boleyn, mother of the Queen, and of a noble family, having descent from the first Howard duke of Norfolk. The queen was originally in favour of Thomas' approaches to Helena but changed her mind and refused to consent to a marriage, perhaps as a result of her notorious sexual jealousy regarding gentlewomen of her privy chamber or because she had strong views on unequal marriages: Helena was a marchioness and queen's kinsman Gorges yet only a gentleman. Thomas is attributed as honest and not bribable, which led him to various trusted tasks on behalf of his cousin the queen.
Thomas Gorges and marchioness Helena married in secret about 1576. When Elizabeth learned of their feat, Helena was exiled from the court, and Thomas was incarcerated to Tower for a while. However Helena was later reinstated, possibly with the help of the lord chamberlain, her influential friend Thomas Radcliffe, third earl of Sussex. The queen warmed to Helena again.
Helena and Thomas had eight (surviving) children. The couple's first child was born in June 1578 and named Elizabeth (1578-1659) after the queen, who was her godmother. Their first son, Francis Gorges (d. in or before 1599), was probably born in 1579; and allegedly named after the good family friend, sir Francis Drake. They had two more daughters, Frances Gorges (1580-1649) and Bridget Gorges (1584-c1634), and four more sons, all of whom became knighted: Edward Gorges, first Baron Gorges of Dundalk (b 1582/3, d in or before 1652), Theobald Gorges (1583-1647), Robert Gorges (1588-1648), and Thomas Gorges (b 1589, d after 1624).
The couple had their town house at Whitefriars. Helena persuaded Thomas Gorges to rebuild his property of today Longford, Wiltshire, south from Salisbury, bought after 1573, more appealing. The mansion had been damaged by fire when he acquired it and a replacement was completed at great expense by 1591, under the final supervision of John Thorpe. Longford was the model for the 'Castle of Amphialeus' in sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia. Thomas Gorges of Langford was knighted in 1586. During this time Helena settled down to raise her family.
The queen Elizabeth granted Helena manors in Huntingdonshire and Wiltshire, which was totally uncharacteristic to the parsimonious queen. The marchioness was still valued highly by queen Elizabeth and often acted as her deputy at the baptism of the children of distinguished noblemen, particularly towards the end of the reign, when the queen's health was deteriorating. It has been reported that marchioness Helena did not participate in court intrigues, instead she was focused to her family; and that there exists no court rumors about her.
In 1582 Thomas was sent as English envoy to Sweden. And met there Helena's family members. Helena also had continuous correspondence with relatives in Sweden, and for example with Duke Charles of Sudermannia, later king Charles IX, her childhood friend.
In 1584 the queen granted an estate at Sheen to Helena and Thomas for their life. It was a former monastery straight north from the queen's chief residence, the Richmond Palace near London City. This meant that Thomas and Helena were able to live with their children while also serving at the royal court.
The elderly queen became yet more dependent on Helena, who was her important support during the last years. Queen Elizabeth died in March 1603. Marchioness Helena was the chief mourner in the royal funeral procession as senior peeress because Arbella Stuart refused to undertake the role and king James was not yet in London. In the funeral procession, she walked first, supported by Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord High Admiral of England. This is mentioned as apogee of her career.
Helena and Thomas took part in July 1603 the coronation of the new monarch, James, and his Danish wife Anne. However soon they moved to Langford from the pest-ridden London. The accession of James VI meant that Helena was demoted from the new queen's privy chamber. However both occasionally served at the new court and in other royal tasks. Helena brokered the king's relations with Sweden, for example the Swedish attempt to have Elizabeth, the king's eldest daughter, as bride for the Swedish heir, Gustav Adolf, son of Charles IX (which project was prevented by Anne of Denmark, her mother). Sir Thomas Gorges died on 30 March 1610 at the age of seventy-four, after which marchioness Helena increasingly retreated from public life. She reportedly remained a devoted member of the Church of England. Some time, she resided at her house of Sheen, near the court, but in the end retreated to Redlynch in Somerset, the manor of her son Robert. Letters show that Helena had close contact with her children and grandchildren, gave advice and support to them, and they visited often each others. Marchioness Helena's last preserved letter, dated 8 September 1634, to a maternal grandson, is signed with a clearly wavering hand.
Helena died at the age of 86 on 10 April 1635 at Redlynch, Somerset, the residence of her son sir Robert Gorges, and was buried on 14 May in Salisbury Cathedral. It has been claimed that Helena had no fewer than ninety-two direct descendants at the time of her death.
[edit] External links
[edit] Sources
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Sjöström (2007): "Scandinavian medieval descendants of Charlemagne: A detailed genealogy of the issue of Agnes Haakonsdottir, of the so-called Fairhair dynasty", Foundations - Journal of the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy 2: 4 (2007, July), ISSN 1479-5078, pp 253-276
