J. L. McIntosh argues that Mary I and Elizabeth I were authority figures before they acceded to the English throne. As independent heads of households and property owners, the Tudor princesses attained a social and political status usually reserved for elite men, showing that women could achieve agency through the management of an elite household.

Drawing on their household archives, McIntosh recounts how the Tudor princesses attracted political clients, challenged royal authority, and established a recognizable political profile by exploiting the resources of servants, estates, and material culture. Her research proves that "exceptional" women can offer insights into the opportunities available to other contemporary women and that the elite household was a foundational element in identity formation.