As I previously wrote, Cecilia Vasa had a following of around a hundred people when she arrived in England for her unsuccessful stay at Queen Elizabeth’s court.

One of these was Helena Snakenborg, born in 1549, daughter of the castle lord – a commander of a fortified castle or castle – and the Riksdag Ulf Henriksson (Snakenborg) and Agneta Knutsdotter av Ökna.

I lack information on how long Helena had been a lady-in-waiting to Princess Cecilia. Still, the commitment ended when Cecilia and her husband left England in the fall of 1566.

At that time, Helena was engaged to William Parr, Marquess of Northhampton, Earl of Essex, and the younger brother of Henry VIII’s last Queen, Cathrine Parr.

William Parr is said to have been with and met Cecilia’s entourage when it arrived in Dover. Apparently, there was a liking at first sight between the young court lady and the English nobleman despite an age difference of 36 years: he was 52, and Helena Snakenborg was 16.

However, it would take until 1571 for the couple to marry, a contributing factor no doubt to the fact that when they first met, William was already married. 

In 1571, however, his wife died, and the wedding could finally occur. Through William’s close relationship with Cathrine Parr, Helena effectively found herself married into the English royal family. However, she became a widow in the same year. As William Parr had no children, she was allowed to retain the title of Marchioness of Northampton, and as a noblewoman, she was also part of Queen Elizabeth’s courtship.

All indications are that she was popular with the Queen, and when 1576, she married Anne Boleyn’s cousin Thomas Gorges, Earl of Langford, she was now part of Elizabeth’s immediate family. In entering into this marriage, Elizabeth showed her inability to decide. On the one hand, she had encouraged the relationship; on the other, she couldn’t decide whether to say yes or no to their request to get married. At last, they did, at any rate, and found themselves amid the fury that Elizabeth could sample; Thomas ended up in a prison cell in the Tower, and Helena was banished from the court.

However, they were soon pardoned again, and everything returned to being as it had been.

According to surviving sources of witness statements, Helena is said to have been perceived as kind and passed on the court gossip to others, which was not unlikely to be a contributing reason why she became close to Queen Elizabeth and was included in the so-called Maids of Honour, the court ladies who stood up to the Queen very close.

Among other things, it was told that during cold winter nights, Helena slept with Elizabeth in her bed to keep the cold away from the majesty.

Helena Snakenborg never returned to Sweden but regularly exchanged letters with her family and her childhood friend, Duke Karl. Queen Elizabeth exploited her good connections with the Swedish royal family.

Helena Snakenborg and Thomas Gorges had three daughters and five sons in the late 1570s and 1580s, with whom they lived in a house in Whitefriars while they built on their Longford estate in Salisbury.

The Queen also gave them the former Sheen Abbey, close to her main residence, Richmond. This allowed Helena to devote herself to her family while her husband was sent on increasingly diplomatic missions, including to Sweden.

When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, Helena Snakenborg led the funeral procession, flanked by the Treasurer and the Admiral.

She and her husband, Thomas, also attended the coronation of James I and his Queen Anna of Denmark. While the relationship with the new regents is said to have been good, Helena’s and Thomas’ presence at court decreased. One explanation that has been put forward is that Queen Anna was Danish and Helena was Swedish at a time when the relationship between the two countries was anything but good.

In 1610, Helena became a widow again and retired to Sheen, where she mainly came to devote herself to her children and grandchildren. She spent shorter stays at court in connection with solemn events.

The last preserved letter from Helena Snakenborg to her granddaughter was sent in September 1634. She died in April the following year at the age of 86. She is buried with her husband, Thomas Gorges, in Salisbury Cathedral.

Sources:

Elizabeth I’s Swedish lady of the privy chamber: Helena Ulfsdotter née Snakenborg, marchioness of Northampton – History of the Parliament

Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon – Kekke Stadin

Elizabeths svenska sängkamrat – Birgitta von Heland

Snakenborg, släkt – Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon/Hans Gillingstam

Images:

Creative Commons

(Thomas Gorges painted by Hans Holbein the Younger)