Hürrem's influence over the Sultan had soon become legendary; she has borne Süleyman five children Mihrimah (daughter), Selim, Beyazıt, Cihangir) and, in an astonishing break with tradition, had eventually been freed and become his legal wife, making Suleyman the first Ottoman Emperor to have a wed wife since Orhan Gazi.

This had strengthened her position in the palace and will lead eventually to one of her sons, Selim, inheriting the empire.

Hürrem also may have acted as Süleyman's adviser on matters of state, and seems to have had an influence upon foreign affairs and international politics.

The Ottoman Empire generally has peaceful relations with the Polish state within a Polish-Ottoman alliance during her lifetime; two of her letters to the Polish King Sigismund II Augustus have been preserved;

Some historians also believe that she may have intervened with her husband to control Crimean Tatar slave-raiding in her native land.