Henry VIII had many different mistresses, but there was one who was the sister of the
King’s second wife and Queen.
Mary Boleyn had a very interestingly life, and she was also considered the mistress of
the French King too.
However she was a woman who was shunned greatly by her family and also by court following
the death of her sister Anne Boleyn.
She was treated poorly at times throughout her life, but she defied what her family wanted
for her, and married a man who many believed was below her status.
Today she’s seen as a very interesting figure, and can be considered the other Boleyn girl
despite Anne initially being known as this.
But what is the story behind the remarkable life of Mary Boleyn, the Queen’s sister?
Mary Boleyn was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard, the daughter
of the Duke of Norfolk.
She was born on Blickling Hill in Norfolk in the family’s seat of power, and she was
the oldest of the three surviving children.
She was the older sister to Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, and her father was very ambitious
for his children.
He wanted his son to become great friends with the King, but it was said that with regards
to his daughter, ‘Thomas Boleyn wanted Mary and Anne to learn to move easily and gracefully
in the highest circles and to acquire all the social graces, to speak fluent French
and to dance and sing and play at least one instrument, to ride and be able to take part
in field sports which were such all absorbing passions with the upper classes, and to become
familiar with the elaborate code of courtesy which governed every aspect of life at the
top.’
Mary grew up at Hever Castle, and was given a very good education alongside her siblings.
Mary’s father was an ambassador and was known in many European courts, but during
a trip to Brussells he became friends with Margaret the Archduchess of Austria.
They struck up a good relationship, and Thomas organised for his daughter Mary Boleyn to
become part of a European court system.
Mary Boleyn served in the household of Margaret of Austria, but then in 1514 she was one of
the ladies in waiting who attended on Henry VIII’s sister Mary, who was sent to marry
King Louis XII of France.
She remained to serve Queen Mary and was later joined by Anne her sister, but they were amongst
only a few young English girls allowed to remain at the French court, after the French
King ordered many to return home.
But it was believed at this time that Mary Boleyn had an affair with the French King
Francis following the death of his father.
Francis referred to her as The English Mare and ‘a very great whore, the most infamous
of all.’
These comments on Mary Boleyn were very unfair, and it’s clear that she may have obtained
a rather troubling reputation for herself.
Together with Anne they stayed at court, but eventually their father heard the rumours
about Mary and brought her back to England.
She was then made a maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon, but she would laster become known
as one of the English King’s most prominent mistresses.
Mary was considered a very pretty and beautiful young woman, but after her return she married
William Carey who was a wealthy courtier on the 4th February 1520.
The King was a guest at the wedding, but soon after Mary became his mistress.
Henry VIII even named a ship after her, and he acknowledged her as his mistress.
It was said, "The affair repeated the pattern established by Bessie Blount: here once again
was a vivacious young girl, an energetic dancer and masker, taking the fancy of a man with
an older, more serious-minded wife, no longer interested in such things."
Whilst married to William Carey, a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, Mary gave birth to two
children, a daughter named Catherine in 1524 and a son named Henry in 1526.
Some historians have claimed that Henry VIII was the father of these two children, and
there were rumours around this at court.
Mary continued to be one of Henry VIII’s favourite mistresses, and she would regularly
visit his bedchamber despite being married.
This was the expectation that the King could have who he liked, but in 1522 Anne Boleyn
came to the royal court.
For years Henry VIII had been planning to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon,
but when Anne came to court she captivated the King and despite the age gap he fell head
over heels in love for her.
Over a number of years Anne would play the game of courtly love, and would tease and
tempt the King, but she wanted to be a Queen in her own right, not just a mistress like
her sister Mary.
She wanted more than Mary had been given, she wanted the power and might of being Queen
and Wife of the King.
Henry VIII wrote Anne letters in which he stated his love for her, but she continued
to refuse to become his mistress.
Anne learned from the life of Mary her sister, and Anne stated that, ‘her heart and soul
were the King’s to enjoy, but her body would never be.’
Henry as he was so infatuated was then forced to split from the Pope, declare himself the
Supreme Head of the Church of England and then divorce Catherine of Aragon.
It was said initially that the King did not think of marrying Anne, and that ‘he saw
Anne as someone to replace her sister Mary who had just ceased to be the royal mistress.’
His campaign to Rome for a divorce would fail, and his relationship with Mary Boleyn made
him a hypocrite when he claimed that his wife Catherine of Aragon had married his brother
and that this made Henry’s marriage invalid.
As the King had been with Anne’s sister, this was practically the same thing.
But Anne Boleyn fell pregnant and he had to push things through.
But when Anne Boleyn became the Queen, it was expected that she would keep Mary close
by, but she did not tend to do this.
Mary’s husband died from sweating sickness, and Mary’s husband had died with a large
amount of debt, but Anne did help secure Mary an annual pension of £100.
Anne Boleyn went with her husband the King to Calais on a state visit to France, and
Mary went with the royal couple.
But then Mary would fall from grace and favour with her sister in spectacular fashion.
In 1534, she secretly married an Essex landowner’s son named William Stafford, and he was a soldier.
However as he was a second son, and his income was not significant or large, he was considered
punching above his weight, and with this it was believed that Mary had married below her
station.
She married ultimately a man for love, and she claimed that she loved her husband, but
Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII were furious with this.
Henry VIII cut off Mary’s allowance, and Anne banished her and her new husband from
court immediately.
Mary Boleyn now found herself in financial bother for marrying a man out of love, but
she was forced to beg Thomas Cromwell for help.
She asked him to help her recover the gracious favour of the King and Queen, and she stated,
‘For well I might have had a greater man of birth, but I assure you I could never had
one that loved me so well.
I had rather beg my bread with him than be the greatest queen christened."
Cromwell did very little, but it was Anne Boleyn who turned her opinion and helped Mary.
She sent Mary a golden cup and some money, but refused to bring her back to court.
They partially reconciled, but the two were never close again.
But following Anne’s fall from grace, and subsequent execution Mary Boleyn disappeared
from the history books.
Anne the King’s second husband had frustrated the King greatly with her inability to give
Henry VIII the son he greatly wanted.
So he tasked Cromwell to get him out of his marriage so he could marry Jane Seymour.
Cromwell came up with a number of false charges including adultery, incest and treason levelled
against Anne.
But these were deadly, and Anne Boleyn was executed in the Tower of London, but also
George Boleyn, Mary and Anne’s younger brother was also executed on Tower Hill.
This left Mary Boleyn as the last Boleyn child, and despite being a former mistress of the
King she managed to escape with her head.
There was no record of her visiting her parents after the executions of her siblings, and
it’s not known really what happened to her.
She did not really correspond with Anne and George during their time at the Tower of London,
but on the 19th July 1543, Mary Boleyn died in her early 40s.
She left behind two children from her first marriage, and it’s believed two children
from her second marriage, with her youngest being named in honour of her sister Anne.
But the life of Mary Boleyn was a rather remarkable and tragic one at times.
She was used by the French King and also the English King as a mistress, and she was later
chastised and banished from court as she married a man out of love.
This was something that was looked down upon by her sister Anne, but she can be seen as
the most successful Boleyn child as at least she kept her head, and she also outlived her
siblings.
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