Although Elizabeth became powerful because of her husband, she used that to her advantage. Her career was manipulating members of nobility through her influence at Court. Dominic Mancini, an Italian traveling in England, wrote, “[The queen] attracted to her party many strangers and introduced them to court, so that they alone should manage the public and private business of the crown, surround the king, and have bands of retainers, give or sell offices, and finally rule the very king himself.” Her strategic placement of her family allowed Elizabeth to have leverage over the nobles in England because of her close proximity to the king. Nobles wanted to win favor with the king so that he would grant them more lands and a higher title. In order…show more content… Ross wrote, “promotion of the Woodvilles was achieved largely by a series of advantageous marriages – so rapid and numerous as temporarily to corner the aristocratic marriage market. These began immediately after Edward’s public recognition of Elizabeth as his wife.” The Woodville women started to gather their connections almost immediately after her crowning in 1465. Elizabeth’s sister Anne married the heir to Earl of Essex. Eleanor was married to the heir of the Earl of Kent. Jacquette married Lord Strange of Knockyn. Mary married the heir of a Lord. Katherine was married to the Duke of Buckingham at the tender age of 11. All these marriages occurred within two years of Elizabeth’s crowning. Elizabeth’s brother Anthony married the extremely wealthy Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, who was also 58 years older than him. When the Duchess passed, Elizabeth attempted to secure a marriage contract between Anthony and Margaret, the sister of King James III in Scotland. Elizabeth also orchestrated a bethortal between Edward IV’s sister and her eldest son from her first marriage, Thomas Grey. Elizabeth secured her position by strategically placing her family members in the homes of powerful nobles. The nobles were displeased with the Woodvilles securing a place in their homes and the homes of their friends, but they did not wish to upset the