Mary Boleyn

'The Other Boleyn Girl', Mary Boleyn

.

Mary was the first child born to Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard.

There is no evidence of Mary's exact date of birth, but it occurred sometime between 1499 and 1508

She was the elder sister to George and Anne Boleyn.

Mary was probably born at Blickling Hall in Norfolk, and grew up at Hever Castle in Kent.

Mary could read and write, and it is presumed, that she would have also been taught the skills needed of a lady at the time including sewing, embroidery, singing and dancing.

She also learned how to play the virginal and lute, was taught appropriate table manners, and raised in the Catholic faith.

Mary's family was loyal to the Tudor dynasty but had Yorkist connections.

Her mother was Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Surrey.

His father, the 1st duke of Norfolk, had died fighting for Richard III against Henry VII.

In 1514 Mary was appointed as a Maid of Honour to Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII, and travelled to France with the young Princess.

Travelling from Dover to France, as part of Mary’s entourage, she was most likely present when Princess Mary married King Louis XII.

Mary was joined in Paris by her father, Sir Thomas, and her sister, Anne, who had been studying in France for the previous year.

After Queen Mary was unexpectedly widowed, the young Mary Boleyn remained in France with Louis’ daughter, Claude of France, and son-in-law, Francis I, the new king.

This was when Mary is supposed to have embarked on sExual affairs, including one with King Francis himself.

Although most historians believe that the reports of her sExual affairs are exaggerated, the French king did refer to Mary as "The English Mare"

Mary returned to England in 1519, where she was appointed a maid-of-honour to Katharine of Aragon.

Mary was reportedly a great beauty, both at the French and English court.

On February 4th 1520, in the Chapel Royal at Greenwich, Mary married Sir William Carey.

William Carey was a handsome young man who had become a gentleman of the privy chamber, and was also a distant relative of Henry VII.

The King attended the wedding and gave the couple 6s and 8d as a wedding present.

Mary became the mistress of King Henry VIII around 1522.

Her first child, Catherine Carey was born in 1524 and her second child, a son was born in 1525.

The affair was conducted in secret, and with great discretion and ended around 1525, when Mary was pregnant with her second child.

There is great debate over who was the father of Mary’s children, but it is widely presumed Catherine was Henry's daughter.

Mary’s husband William Carey died of the sweating sickness on June 22nd 1528.

Mary was left a widow with two young children to care for.

Sometime during 1533/1534 Mary, without permission, married a man named William Stafford.

Stafford was a soldier in the garrison at Calais and later a gentleman usher to King Henry VIII.

Due to her marriage to William Stafford and for not seeking permission from her father or sister, Queen Anne Boleyn, Mary and her new husband were banished from court.

Mary's life between 1534 and her sister's exEcution on 19th May 1536 is difficult to trace.

She was most likely residing at Rochford Hall in Essex.

There is no record of her visiting her parents, and no evidence of any correspondence with, or visits to, her sister Anne or her brother George, while they were imprisoned in the Tower of London.

It is likely that Mary never had any contact with her niece, Elizabeth I, who was to become one of the most iconic monarchs in English history.

Mary Boleyn lived to see her children gain some royal favor.

Her teenage daughter Catherine was appointed a maid of honor to Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife.

Sometime in 1540, Catherine made a good match, marrying Sir Francis Knollys, a popular member of Henry VIII’s household.

Catherine also became one of her cousin Elizabeth Tudor’s, closest friends.

Mary's son Henry Carey, would be ennobled as Lord Hunsdon in Queen Elizabeth's reign.

Elizabeth was kind to her Boleyn relatives, especially Mary’s children.

Mary died of unknown causes, on 19th July 1543, in her early forties.

She had outlived her more famous brother and sister, by seven years.

.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Boleyn

.

https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders

.

Portrait attributed to Mary Boleyn~ Hever Castle, Kent.