[8] Gertrude and her husband were held in high favour at the English royal court and in 1525, Courtenay was created Marquess of Exeter.
[8] Gertrude was amongst a group of high ranking noblewomen who openly opposed King Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
[5] In September 1533 Gertrude was described in a letter written by the Imperial Ambassador, Eustache Chapuys, as "the sole consolation of the Queen and Princess.
"[1] When Chapuys was later imprisoned, Gertrude took a risk by visiting him in person, wearing a disguise, to warn him that Henry was considering executing Catherine and Mary.
[16] Also, as a royal baptism was a public spectacle and a godparent was expected to provide an extremely expensive present, historian Eric Ives argued that the decision to appoint Gertrude to this role was malicious.
[15] Mary refused to accept the invalidity of her parents’ marriage and the King's privy council went into an emergency session in 1536 to discuss what should be done.
[1] Gertrude was imprisoned with her husband, Henry Courtenay, and their son, Edward, in the Tower of London following the discovery of the supposed Exeter Conspiracy in 1538.