ABSTRACT
She was married at least twice: once scandalously in secret for love, and at least once formally for dynastic allegiance, power, and wealth. She incurred the wrath of her monarch for at least one of her marriages, and never fully recovered her privileged status at court. She was accused of promiscuity and adultery, and her husband’s paternity of her children was questioned in court gossip. She was beautiful, seductive, intelligent, and charming, and she manipulated the most important royal officials of the realm, most notably Queen elizabeth i, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and Sir Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury. She was at the center of dazzling literature, drama, spectacle, and art, as well as political intrigue, and she was probably complicit in the notorious treason of her husband, son, or brother. Most remarkably, she insisted that her mind, body, and sexuality were her own, and not the property of men.
