Mary Boleyn

<body bgcolor="#000000" text="#ffffff" link="CRIMSON" alink="CRIMSON" vlink="CRIMSON"> <IMG SRC="mb_bar.jpg" ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="Mary Boleyn, © Hever Castle, Kent" WIDTH="180"> <FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="7">Mary Boleyn</FONT> <P> <TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH=190><TR><TD><A HREF="maryboleyn.jpg"><IMG SRC= "maryboleyn_embed.jpg" BORDER="0"></A></TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="1">Image of Mary Boleyn © Hever Castle.<BR> Scanned by Lara E. Eakins at <A HREF="http://tudorhistory.org/" target="_parent">Tudor History</A>.</FONT></CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE>Mary Boleyn is best known as the sister of <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>. As with her brother <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" target="_parent">George</A></B>, though, she was a significant figure herself. She was blonde and blue-eyed - definitely more conventionally good-looking than her strikingly dark sister <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> in an era which favoured fair complexions. She does not seem to have had the same intelligence as either sibling, however, and does not seem to have been as close with either. <P> <FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Early Years</FONT> <P> As with her sister, Mary's date of birth is disputed. The traditional argument, more recently pursued by Retha M. Warnicke, is probably that Mary was the younger sister - in this case born around 1508. Warnicke bases this upon the (indisputable) fact that <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> was sent to the Netherlands, not Mary; she argues that this means that <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> had to be the elder and that a younger sister would never have been favoured with such an opportunity at the expense of the elder.<SUP>1</SUP> <P> However, Warnicke goes on to dismiss the fact that Mary was married first as due to Anne's presence on the continent, with a hope of marrying a foreign nobleman - a far greater match than Mary's. This raises two questions, though; first, exactly what would any French nobleman hope to gain from marrying <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>? She was no heiress, and charming as she might have been there is not really a convincing reason why she would be a suitable prospect. Furthermore, while it was considered legitimate for a girl to marry at the age of twelve, it was extremely early for a girl who was not an heiress or of highly noble birth. The details of <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>'s patent as Lady Marquess of Pembroke, calling Anne "one of the daughters" of <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/thomas/" target="_parent">Sir Thomas Boleyn</A></B> rather than the eldest daughter, and Mary's grandson's claim that his grandmother was the elder sister,<SUP>2</SUP> further support the view that Mary was older. Given the likelihood of around 1501 as <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>'s birthdate (for which see her biography on this site), Mary's date of birth would be around 1499. <P> Mary was not sent to the court of Margaret of Austria in 1513 with <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>, but she crossed the Channel in August 1514 with Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII), who was to marry Louis XII of France. (Her sister probably went direct from Mechelen to France.) On 1 January 1515, however, Louis died. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, sent to negotiate with François I, both in terms of general relations and to arrange Mary's return; the two were already in love, however, and they married. After a great deal of grovelling, the two returned to England in April 1515 and it seems likely that Mary Boleyn came back with them (though this is disputed; some suggest she went with <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> into Queen Claude's household. Either way, she left at least a year before <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>, given her marriage). It is alleged that she gained a reputation in France '<I>per una grandissima ribalda et infame sopre tutte</I>' - 'as a very great wanton with a most infamous reputation'.<SUP>3</SUP> The source claims to emanate from the then-dauphin François; others claim he referred to Mary as 'my hack, my mule', having been his mistress. <P> <FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Wife and Mistress</FONT> <P> On 4 February 1520, Mary married Sir William Carey. A younger son, Carey was nevertheless a gentleman of the privy chamber and high in royal favour. The king himself was present at the wedding (and made them a gift of 6s. 8d.). Over the course of their married life, William received two keeperships, a stewardship, an annuity and manors in two counties. Mary had two children by William Carey; Henry Carey, born in 1525, and Katherine born around 1528. Carey received a spate of royal grants in 1522, 1523, 1524 and 1525, and it seems that there was a reason for this aside from his own standing; Mary was the king's mistress at the time. It seems likely that the affair began in 1522 or so rather than any earlier, given that his previous mistress, Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount was not married off to Gilbert Tailboys until then, and in 1523 the royal ship <I>Mary Boleyn</I> was launched.<SUP>4</SUP> <P> It is also interesting to note that, after the affair seems to have ended, Mary became pregnant quickly; this certainly seems to strengthen the (already considerable) case that Henry's fertility was fairly low. It does not seem likely that Henry Carey was the king's child; the rumour was spread by supporters of Katherine of Aragon, and while the king did meticulously provide for him there was no stir at the time. The affair seems to have benefited the Boleyn family as well as William Carey. At any rate, <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/thomas/" target="_parent">Sir Thomas Boleyn</A></B>'s career continued apace, receiving a great many stewardships and other financial prizes. He was finally elevated to the peerage as Viscount Rochford in June 1525. Mary's liaison ended in 1525 or so, at which point she returned to her husband. <P> <FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Obscurity</FONT> <P> William Carey, however, died of the sweat on 23 June 1528 (the same epidemic which nearly killed <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>). By this time the King's Great Matter was definitely under way, and indeed a dispensation had been issued on 1 January 1528 to dispose of any affinity created by Henry's relationship with Mary! Carey's sources of income were all given away by the king, while Henry Carey became <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>'s ward during his minority. Mary was left destitute; in his letters to <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B>, he expressed his hope that "Eve shall not have the power to deceive Adam" [i.e. that Mary would not prove to be carrying a child by a man other than Carey; this pregnancy is believed to be of Katherine Carey], but also said that her father owed it to his honour to support her; it seems that <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> had intervened with the king on her sister's behalf. Her father provided her with a small allowance and at the end of 1528, the king extended an annuity of £100 to Mary which her husband had enjoyed.<SUP>5</SUP> It also seems she became one of her sister's ladies after Henry left Katherine of Aragon, and went with her to Calais in 1532.<SUP>6</SUP> <P> In autumn 1534, Mary was discovered to be pregnant - and married to Sir William Stafford, a younger son of no particular standing. Her father cut off her allowance, while <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> had her and her husband banished from court. It was three months before Mary attempted to achieve a reconciliation, and she wrote to Cromwell to beg him to intercede with the Queen, her father, the Duke of Norfolk and her brother. The letter admitted that 'love overcame reason', but contained the following passage: <P> <BLOCKQUOTE>For well I might a' had a greater man of birth, but I assure you I could never a' had one that loved me so well. I had rather beg my bread with him than be the greatest queen christened.<SUP>7</SUP></BLOCKQUOTE> <P> Thus showing Mary's lack of political acumen to its full! <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> saw this letter, according to Alison Weir; certainly, had she done so, it could have hit a fairly raw nerve. Mary lived in quiet obscurity with William Stafford, mainly in Rochford (Essex); when <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> and <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" target="_parent">George</A></B> were tried and executed in May 1536, she does not seem to have made any attempt to contact or intercede for them. She may well have taken the view that it was unwise to do any such thing; her obscurity probably served to protect her. <P> After the disasters of 1536, little is recorded of Mary. On the death of her father in 1539, Hever Castle seems to have been sold to the king by her uncle, Sir James Boleyn; a sum of money was made out to her from the proceeds. She died of natural causes on 19 July 1543; her children by William Carey enjoyed considerable favour during the reign of <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne Boleyn</A></B>'s daughter, <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/elizabeth/" target="_parent">Elizabeth I</A></B>. Her child by Stafford seems to have died in around 1545. <P> <FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Notes</FONT> <P> <SUP>1</SUP> See Warnicke, pp. 9-10 for the basic argument supporting 1507 and 1508 for <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" target="_parent">Anne</A></B> and Mary. <P> <SUP>2</SUP> Ives, p. 19 <P> <SUP>3</SUP> Ives, p. 34<SUP>30</SUP> <P> <SUP>4</SUP> See Ives, p. 20 and <I>passim</I> for Mary's affair with the king. <P> <SUP>5</SUP> Warnicke, p. 82 <P> <SUP>6</SUP> Warnicke, p. 117 <P> <SUP>7</SUP> <I>Cit.</I> Weir, p. 273 <P> <FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Works Cited</FONT> <P> Ives, Eric W. <i>Anne Boleyn. </i>Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986. <p> <p> Warnicke, Retha M. <i>The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII. </i>Cambridge: Canto, 1991. <p> <p> Weir, Alison. <i>The Six Wives of Henry VIII. </i>New York: Ballantine Books, 1993. <P> <HR> <P> <A HREF="/boleynfamily/" TARGET="_parent"><B>Home</B></A> <P> <FONT SIZE="1">Image of Mary Boleyn © Hever Castle.<BR> Scanned by Lara E. Eakins at <A HREF="http://tudorhistory.org/">Tudor History</A>.</FONT></FONT> </BODY>