Ngô Sĩ Liên
Since he had attained the throne at such a young age, the child emperor was ruler in name only, with the real power in the hands of Empress Lê Thị, who acted as regent for her son. Since Empress Lê Thị favored Đỗ Anh Vũ, the royal court witnessed the rising power of this official who decided almost all matters of the country and despised other officials. According to Ngô Sĩ Liên in "Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư", the reason for the favouritism of Empress Lê Thị for Đỗ Anh Vũ was the secret personal relationship between them, as a result, some mandarins such as Vũ Đái, Nguyễn Dương, Nguyễn Quốc and Dương Tự Minh tried to topple Đỗ Anh Vũ but failed and thus died under his order. After the death of the Empress in 1147, Đỗ Anh Vũ maintained his strong position in the royal court until his own death in the eighth month of 1158. The rise of Đỗ Anh Vũ in the royal court was considered by Ngô Sĩ Liên as bad judgment on the Emperor's part, and one of the more serious weaknesses of Lý Anh Tông's reign.