Mary Boleyn

Lady Mary Boleyn (c. 1500 - July 19, 1543) was an English born courtesan, granddaughter to Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, daughter to Lady Elizabeth Howard and leading diplomat Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, sister to George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford and Anne Boleyn (by whose fame she has been eclipsed).

Mary was the mistress of Henry VIII of England and is purported to have been mistress of Francis I of France as well. She was married twice to members of Henry's court and bore children who were in the court of her niece Elizabeth I of England.

Life Account

Early life

Mary was born in Blickling Hall in Norfolk sometime between 1499 and 1504. She is generally believed to have been older than her famous sister Anne, though there is some controversy regarding this. It was once believed that it was Mary who spent time as a companion to Archduchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy, but it is now clear that it was Anne.

In her biography of Anne Boleyn, Joanne Denny writes that Mary's grandson, Lord Hunsdon stated he was certain that Mary was the elder sister. In 1597 he claimed the Earldom of Ormonde through his grandmother. If Anne had been the elder sister then it would have been her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, who would have had the right to the title.

Several books mention that Mary Boleyn accompanied Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York who had become the new Queen consort of Louis XII of France, to France, as Maid of Honour. While many of the Queen's English maids were ordered to leave France, Mary Boleyn was allegedly permitted to remain, probably because of her father's connections as the new English ambassador.

When Mary Tudor left France after Louis' death on January 1, 1515, Mary Boleyn allegedly stayed in the court of the new king and queen, Francis I of France and Claude of France.

Royal affair in France

When comparing Mary to Anne, it is Mary that is generally regarded as the more promiscuous, taking several sexual partners in her lifetime, while Anne is considered the more devious of the two. While serving in France, Mary became mistress to King Francis I, who called her "my English mare" and later on in his life described her as "a great whore, the most infamous of all". Mary subsequently later embarked on numerous scandalous affairs, which eventually would lead to her dismissal and her being sent back to England.

Her sister Anne and her father eventually joined her in France. Both of them were allegedly mortified by Mary's actions. She was sent home in 1519 following the illicit marriage of Queen Mary Tudor to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and shortly thereafter became mistress to Henry VIII. She was then placed in the service of Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Catherine had served as the Queen Consort of Henry VIII since June 11, 1509.

Royal affair in England, first marriage and children

Shortly after going back to England, and following her one-year affair with Henry VIII, Mary married Sir William Carey on February 4, 1520, a courtier. Henry VIII was a guest at the couple's wedding. Her position as mistress to the king was at an end, but the affair did continue for quite some time. Popular legend states that Mary bore Henry two illegitimate children, and that her affair with Henry VIII continued after her marriage, the latter is likely true, but the rumor about the children is still debated. One witness did note that Mary's son had a strong resemblance to Henry VIII, but this could have been conjecture, flattery or a lie. It is likely that his affair with her did continue for some time, but unlikely that the children were his.

Henry usually acknowledged all male bastards as his own and when he finished with Mary he had not yet fallen for her sister Anne, thus meaning that there was no reason for him to deny paternity of the child if he had been the father. Many people at first believed that Carey was not the father of the children, Henry and Catherine, and recent evidence suggests that Mary's youngest daughter Catherine was not born until 1529, by which time Henry's affair with her had been over for almost six years.

The rumour that Henry was the king's son appears to have been founded on no more than the recollection of John Hales, vicar of Isleworth, who some ten years after the child was born remarked that a Brigettine monk from Sion had once showed him 'young Master Carey' saying he was the king's bastard. However, it was this son, Henry Carey, that Mary's sister Anne Boleyn was granted wardship over by Henry VIII following the death of Mary's husband William Carey, Anne by that time being the king's mistress and future wife, which does lead many to speculate as to whether or not he was in fact the king's son.

Mary's children both bore the surname of Carey, and it has been suggested that Sir William Carey received his knighthood and lands because he was married to the king's mistress or official father of the king's bastards. However, even before his marriage to Mary Boleyn, Carey was a prominent courtier and a favourite of the king. The truth may never be known.

Overshadowed by her sister

Mary's sister was called back to England in 1522, and it is uncertain how much effect either sister had on the rising fortunes of their father, who was created a Viscount in 1525. It is likely that their fathers rise was mostly due to Henry VIII's involvement with both sisters. By mid-1523, Mary's affair with Henry was finished, short of brief liaisons. A year or so later, Henry fell victim to the charms of Mary's sister, the bewitching and cultured Anne Boleyn.

Although Mary was alleged to have been more appealing and more attractive physically than her sister Anne, it was her sister who seemed to have been more assertive. While attractive, Anne Boleyn was not a great beauty of the time, considered too thin and too dark, although many people commented on her magnificent dark eyes and beautiful dark hair. Mary, on the other hand, had traditional good looks, buxom, with a nice figure, with fair hair, skin, and eyes. What Anne Boleyn lacked physically she made up for with her fashion sense and knowledge of the overall events behind the scenes in the royal court, inspiring many new fashion trends, and portraying an outgoing personality. Henry was so determined to possess Anne (to the point of citizens falsely suspecting witchcraft on her part) that by 1527, he had proposed marriage.

A year later, when Mary's husband died during an outbreak of the sweats, Henry VIII promptly granted Anne Boleyn the wardship of her nephew (and possibly his son), two-year-old Henry Carey. At the time of William's death, Mary was pregnant with his daughter - who was born in 1529 and named Catherine. Anne arranged for Mary's son to be educated at a respectable Cistercian monastery. Mary's callous father showed no intention of helping her in the financial plight resulting from her husband's death. It was only Anne's intercession on the part of her sister, with Henry, that secured Mary a small annual pension.

Second marriage

When Anne went to Calais with Henry VIII in 1532, Mary was one of Anne's companions. Anne was crowned Queen on June 1, 1533. In 1534, Mary secretly married Sir William Stafford, an usher and soldier of no rank and small income. When this was discovered, her family disowned her for marrying beneath her station, and the couple was banished from the Court by Anne. This would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

In late 1534, while her father and brother received numerous grants, titles, and other gifts, Mary was reduced to begging Thomas Cromwell to speak to Henry on her behalf. Mary hoped Henry would persuade Anne to forgive her but her former lover was less than helpful. So Mary asked Cromwell to speak to her father, her uncle, and her brother, but to no avail. Anne, however, sent Mary a magnificent golden cup and some money. This partial reconciliation was the closest the two sisters ever came again, since they did not meet between 1534 and Anne's death in 1536. Although history considers Mary the outcast, neither she nor Anne made any attempts at contact, therefore making it likely that the seperation was mutual.

Her life between 1534 and her sister's execution on May 19, 1536 is difficult to trace. Mary did not visit her mother, nor did she visit her sister Anne when the latter was imprisoned in the Tower of London. She also made no attempts to visit their brother George, also condemned to death on charges of treason (he and her sister Anne were accused of incest). There is no evidence that she wrote to them, either. Like their uncle, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, she may have thought it wise to avoid association with her now disgraced relatives.

She and her husband remained outcasts living in rustic retirement at Rochford in Essex. This turned out to be just as well, for they were thus able to escape any involvement in the witch-hunt surrounding the eventual disgrace, trial and execution of both Anne and her brother George, as well as the five other young men in that circle. Her mother retired in disgrace from the royal court, dying in seclusion just a year after the executions.

After her parents' death Mary inherited the Boleyn properties in Essex, and herself lived on until l543, long enough to watch as her young cousin Queen Catherine Howard was also exploited and ultimately sacrificed to family ambition. Thus, the Boleyns had fallen.

She seems to have lived out the rest of her days in anonymity and relative comfort with her husband. However she died at a young age, on July 19, 1543.

Children

Her marriage to William Carey (d. June 22, 1529) reportedly resulted in the birth of two children:

• Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (March 4, 1525/1526 - July 23, 1596). Ennobled by Queen Elizabeth I just after her coronation. Knight of the Garter. Elizabeth offered Henry the title of Earl of Ormonde, which he had long sought, when he was dying; but he refused the honor.
• Catherine Carey (c. 1529 - 1568). Maid of Honor to Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife. She was married to Sir Francis Knollys, Knight of the Garter since 1593, in 1540. One of their daughters, Lettice Knollys, became the second wife of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, the favorite of Elizabeth I's who was reputed to have been romantically involved with her, and married Lettice out of spite.

It is actually possible that Catherine was the elder of Mary's first two children, as the exact dates are still uncertain.

Both children have been suggested as illegitimate offspring of Henry VIII of England, although many historians consider this to be unlikely.

Her marriage to Sir William Stafford (d. May 5, 1556) resulted in the birth of a son, who was considered to have been born in 1535 and to have died in [[1545]. There was also a daughter, named Anne. This, however, is still open to speculation.

Depictions in Fiction

Mary appeared in the 1969 movie "Anne of the Thousand Days", where she is presented as pregnant, dejected and bitter. She was played in that movie by Valerie Gearon, opposite Genevieve Bujold as Anne Boleyn, Richard Burton as Henry VIII and William Squire as Thomas Boleyn. Mary is the subject of The Other Boleyn Girl (2002), an award-winning yet highly inaccurate novel by Philippa Gregory. The most accurate presentation of her comes from Wendy J. Dunn's novel Dear Heart, How Like You This? based on the life of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" was made into a BBC television drama in January, 2003, starring Natascha McElhone as Mary, Jodhi May as Anne Boleyn, Jared Harris as Henry VIII and Steven MacIntosh as George Boleyn.

Her character also briefly appeared in the also-inaccurate 2003 drama "Henry VIII" although it was a non-speaking part. The drama was dominated by Ray Winstone as Henry VIII, Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn and Assumpta Serna as Katherine of Aragon.

Mary's character also features in the novels "The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn" by Robin Maxwell, "I, Elizabeth" by Rosalind Miles, "The Lady in the Tower" by Jean Plaidy, "Mistress Anne" by Nora Lofts, "Anne Boleyn" by Evelyn Anthony, and "Young Royals: Doomed Queen Anne" by Carolyn Meyer.

Her character is also mentioned in the movie "Henry VIII and His Six Wives" with Keith Michell as Henry VIII and Charlotte Rampling as Anne Boleyn; and in the six-part BBC television series "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" with Keith Michell again playing the king, Annette Crosbie as Katherine of Aragon and Dame Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn.