17th-century copy of a lost original portrait by Remigius van Leemput
Known for
Mistress of Henry VIII
Born
c. 1499 Blickling Hall, Norfolk, England
Died
19 July 1543 (aged 43–44)
Buried
Unknown although assumed to be buried at Hever Castle
Noble family
Boleyn
Spouse(s)
William Carey
(m. 1520; d. 1528)
William Stafford
(m. 1534)
Issue
Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon Edward Stafford (disputed) Anne Stafford (disputed)
Father
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
Mother
Elizabeth Howard
Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary,[1] (c. 1499[2] – 19 July 1543) was the elder sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Mary was one of the mistresses of Henry VIII for an unknown period. It has been rumoured that she bore two of the King's children, though Henry did not acknowledge either. Mary was also rumoured to have been a mistress of Henry VIII's rival, King Francis I of France, for some period between 1515 and 1519.[3]
Mary Boleyn was married twice: in 1520 to William Carey, and again, secretly, in 1534, to William Stafford, a soldier from a good family but with few prospects. This secret marriage to a man considered beneath her station angered King Henry VIII and her sister, Queen Anne, and resulted in Mary's banishment from the royal court. She died seven years later, having spent the remainder of her life in obscurity.
^"Katherine Knollys". Westminster Abbey – Founded 960. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Retrieved 2 June 2016. Katherine Knollys' tombstone in Westminster Abbey reads thus: "This Lady Knollys and the Lord Hundesdon her brother were the childeren of William Caree Esquyer, and of the Lady Mary his wiffe one of the doughters and heires to Thomas Bulleyne Erle of Wylshier [Wiltshire] and Ormond. Which Lady Mary was sister to Anne Quene of England wiffe to Kinge Henry the Eyght father and mother to Elizabeth Quene of England".
^Antonia Fraser, The Wives of Henry VIII (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1992), p. 119
^Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, X, no.450.
MaryBoleyn, also known as Lady Mary, (c. 1499 – 19 July 1543) was the elder sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable...
Anne Boleyn (/ˈbʊlɪn, bʊˈlɪn/; c. 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances...
of MaryBoleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister. Hever Castle in Kent was the family seat of the Boleyns and the childhood home of queen consort Anne Boleyn. Sir...
Boleyn Girl (2001) is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat MaryBoleyn...
with MaryBoleyn – the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, English Ambassador to France. Later, Henry turned his attention to Mary's younger sister, Anne Boleyn, a...
William Kingston Hans Holbein the Younger Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, wife of Thomas Boleyn Stephen Gardiner John Lambert (martyr) Henry Pole...
Boleyn (died 1561), a courtier of Henry VIII, husband of Lady Elizabeth Boleyn Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (c.1505–1542), wife of George Mary Boleyn...
male heir, would legitimise Fitzroy. MaryBoleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn. It was rumoured that one or both of Mary's children were fathered by the King,...
the Privy Chamber and Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII, and his wife MaryBoleyn, who had once been a mistress of the king. Catherine was thus Elizabeth...
produce the male heir he desired, he became enamoured of MaryBoleyn's sister, Anne Boleyn, then a charismatic young woman of 25 in the Queen's entourage...
Sir Geoffrey Boleyn (1406–1463; also Jeffray Bulleyn, Bullen, etc.) was an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London from 1457...
Mary Carey may refer to: MaryBoleyn (c. 1499/1500 – 1543), married name Mary Carey, sister to Queen Anne and mistress of Henry VIII of England and Francis...
and the older sister of Rollo Weeks, both actresses. Weeks portrayed MaryBoleyn in the Showtime historical drama The Tudors (2007–08). In 2008 she appeared...
infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter Mary as heir presumptive...
Lane, the re-imagining of The Munsters for NBC. Wakefield appeared as MaryBoleyn in the 2015 BBC2 television series Wolf Hall. She also appeared in the...
much like her daughter Mary, and she was only six years older than Henry; he was approximately ten years older than Anne Boleyn. Anne was recalled to Henry's...
The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory which was first published in 2006. It is a direct sequel to her previous novel The...
Royal Weddings and MaryBoleyn: The Mistress of Kings, the first full non-fiction biography of MaryBoleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn. In 2013 she published...
Sir William Boleyn, KB (1451 – 10 October 1505) of Blickling Hall in Norfolk and Hever Castle in Kent, was a wealthy and powerful landowner who served...
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