semper-exdem replied to your post: i feel like i see this a lot with historical women...
Honestly I would argue that Elizabeth had MORE close female friends that she trusted than male. In the male group I would put Robert Dudley, William Cecil, Christopher Hatton and MAYBE Thomas Heneage. The others were mainly courtiers filling their roles or political colleagues. For female friends I can honestly start prattling off women that she liked and was close to: Kat Ashley, Blanche Parry, Mary Dudley, Anne Russell, Helena Snakenbourg, Katherine Carey (and her daughters)…
exactly, there’s so much overblown about her relationships with men (essex, raleigh, philip of spain for some weird ass reason?) when like these pale compared to her very long friendships with women, but also how many of these men really knew her beyond her public persona as queen? very few, while the women in her life were with her nearly constantly and in far more intimate settings, much is made out of her ‘jealous’ reactions to when her ladies would marry but you can easily see why elizabeth, kinda obviously, may have had some deep abandonment issues and didn’t like her ladies leaving her
