Helena Snakenborg

Helena Snakenborg came to England in 1565 in the entourage of Princess Cecilia of Sweden and remained at Elizabeth I’s court. She became one of the queen’s attendants and married William Parr, Marquess of Northampton, after receiving the queen’s approval.

Her long service links the Swedish nobility to Elizabeth’s privy chamber and illuminates the marriage politics of foreign-born court women. Helena Snakenborg also held the offices or ranks of Marchioness of Northampton and Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Helena Snakenborg belonged to the Snakenborg family and operated within Sweden and Kingdom of England.

Sandra Byrd’s Roses Have Thorns follows Helena Snakenborg under her own name from her arrival with Princess Cecilia of Sweden into decades of service at Elizabeth I’s court. Her marriage to William Parr gives her rank as Marchioness of Northampton, while widowhood and her later attachment to Thomas Gorges place her personal choices under the queen’s close supervision. The novel uses Helena’s documented court career to explore marriage, friendship and religious loyalty amid the succession crisis and fears surrounding Mary, Queen of Scots.