Mary Boleyn
“The Other Boleyn Girl”
We all know about Anne Boleyn. A woman whose marriage changed England forever. But what about her sister, Mary Boleyn.
Mary was born in Norfolk. A part of the country where its green, peaceful and by the coast. Well, its the county that I am living in. She was born at Blickling Hall in either 1499 or 1500 as the eldest child to Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard.
Mary grew up with her younger siblings at the family's home (Hever Castle) in Kent. They spent most of their childhood abroad as Thomas was the English ambassador in Europe from 1512. Mary and Anne would of been taught the art of court life along with languages.
In 1514, Mary went over to France as part of Princess Mary's (King Henry's younger sister) wedding party.
After her return the family married her to William Carey, a gentleman of the privy chamber of the king, on February 4th 1520. It is known that she became the King's mistress in 1521.
"The great Prostitute"
In France, the maitresse en titre
was a recognised public figure, wielding influence and patronage, but the affair was never made public and Mary didn't enjoy her wealth like so many women before her did. She was just a fling. A toy for the King to play with. To release his sexual desires with. And she knew it. She was just a pawn.
Her first child fathered by the King was a girl christened Catherine was born in 1524 and was followed by a son named Henry in 1526. At this time the King grew tired of Mary and moved his eyes to Mary's younger sister, Anne who had returned home from the house of Queen Claude of France.
Anne had returned to England at the end of 1521, for her marriage to one of her Irish cousins, but it had fallen through and her own unauthorised romance with Henry Percy had been blighted by Cardinal Wolsey, so that by the time the King's eye started to wander she was still unspoken for.
Anne was as ambitious as her father, and more strong-willed and intelligent than her sister, but not so good-looking, Anne had no intention of becoming another royal mistress.
Anne was as ambitious as her father, and more strong-willed and intelligent than her sister, but not so good-looking, Anne had no intention of becoming another royal mistress.
Carey died from a outbreak of sweating sickness in the summer of 1528. After her husband's death Mary remained at court throughout Anne's determined, skilful, six-year-long campaign for power. Mary played the supportive sisterly role, and perhaps drawing on her own experience to give advice on how best to please the king, without allowing him to proceed to the 'ultimate conjunction'.
There was occasional references to Mary in Henry's private letters to Anne, and in November 1530 Anne was within sight of her goal.
Henry wanted a divorce from Catherine, but it was against the Catholic church. In 1527, while attempting to obtain a papal annulment for his marriage, Henry also requested a dispensation to marry Anne, as he had sleet her sister. What a betrayal. He really wasn't a nice man towards women. To quote Brittany Spears he was "nothing but a womaniser". Sorry, I know cheesy.
In 1531, the family achieved it's goal. Absolute power. The king finally separated from Catherine, and in October 1532, he won the battle for his divorce and Henry broke England away from the power of Rome. He and Anne paid a state visit to France. Mary was among the 30 ladies who accompanied them.
She took matter into her own hands in 1434 when she married William Stafford who was a man of low birth. She married for love in secret. Once her family discovered her marriage she was cut off completely and banished from court. She admitted that she might have chosen 'a greater man of birth and a higher', but never one that would love her so most, or a more honest man. And she went on, 'I had rather beg my bread with him than to be the greatest queen in Christendom. And I believe verily ... he would not forsake me to be a king.'
OMG! How could her family do that to her? She forsake her soul to become the King's mistress, committed adultery, and gave the Boleyn power in England.
She was banished to Rochford in Essex where she lived with William. This was good as when the accusations were made against Anne and George, she was able to escape their fate: beheading. During this time, there is no record of her visiting any member of her family.
After Anne’s execution, their mother retired from the royal court, dying in seclusion in 1538. Her father, died in 1539. Following the deaths of her parents, Mary became the sole heir to the Boleyn inheritance. She lived out the rest of her days in obscurity and relative comfort with her second husband.
Mary had two children with William: Anne Stafford (date of birth and death are unknown) and Edward Stafford (1535–1545).
Her children were to prosper in the reign of their cousin, Elizabeth I, who showed special favour towards her mother's kin. Catherine Carey married Sir Francis Knollys, a distinguished pillar of the Elizabethan establishment, and became one of the queen's closest friends. Henry Carey was raised to the peerage as Baron Hunsdon and followed a military career, playing a leading part in suppressing the Northern Rising of 1569, and was rewarded with a personal note of thanks from his sovereign lady, signed 'Your loving kinswoman, Elizabeth R'.
The Boleyn/Carey/Tudor connection continued on to the end of the century. Catherine's daughter Lettice married Robert Dudley and after their marriage was thrown into the tower. It was Mary's grandson, Robert Carey, who was with the queen at Richmond Palace in March 1603 when she died and recorded a moving account of her last illness and death. It was Robert, too, who rode from Richmond to Edinburgh, accomplishing the journey in a record three days, to tell James of Scotland that he was king of England at last.
Mary died on the 19th July 1543.
In conclusion, Mary had a life full of drama: mistresses to two king's, a main player in rise of Anne Boleyn as Queen, saw the change in England, married for love, banished from court, witnessed the death of her younger siblings and then the death of her parents. Her life should really be one of those reality shows that are on the telly. Watch out The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea.
To history she is known as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I don't believe that. I think she has her own story. She is not merely The Other Boleyn Girl.
I do recommend that if you haven't to read Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl. I couldn't put it down.
Her is the trailer to The Other Boleyn Girl. Enjoy!
OR
After Anne’s execution, their mother retired from the royal court, dying in seclusion in 1538. Her father, died in 1539. Following the deaths of her parents, Mary became the sole heir to the Boleyn inheritance. She lived out the rest of her days in obscurity and relative comfort with her second husband.
Mary had two children with William: Anne Stafford (date of birth and death are unknown) and Edward Stafford (1535–1545).
Her children were to prosper in the reign of their cousin, Elizabeth I, who showed special favour towards her mother's kin. Catherine Carey married Sir Francis Knollys, a distinguished pillar of the Elizabethan establishment, and became one of the queen's closest friends. Henry Carey was raised to the peerage as Baron Hunsdon and followed a military career, playing a leading part in suppressing the Northern Rising of 1569, and was rewarded with a personal note of thanks from his sovereign lady, signed 'Your loving kinswoman, Elizabeth R'. The Boleyn/Carey/Tudor connection continued on to the end of the century. Catherine's daughter Lettice married Robert Dudley and after their marriage was thrown into the tower. It was Mary's grandson, Robert Carey, who was with the queen at Richmond Palace in March 1603 when she died and recorded a moving account of her last illness and death. It was Robert, too, who rode from Richmond to Edinburgh, accomplishing the journey in a record three days, to tell James of Scotland that he was king of England at last.
Mary died on the 19th July 1543.
In conclusion, Mary had a life full of drama: mistresses to two king's, a main player in rise of Anne Boleyn as Queen, saw the change in England, married for love, banished from court, witnessed the death of her younger siblings and then the death of her parents. Her life should really be one of those reality shows that are on the telly. Watch out The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea.
To history she is known as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I don't believe that. I think she has her own story. She is not merely The Other Boleyn Girl.
I do recommend that if you haven't to read Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl. I couldn't put it down.
Her is the trailer to The Other Boleyn Girl. Enjoy!
OR
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