Mary Boleyn

About Mary Boleyn

Mary Boleyn (c. 1499–July 19, 1543), a member of the famous Boleyn family, who enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of Henry VIII. Mary was the sister of Queen Anne Boleyn; some historians claim that she was the younger sister, but her children believed Mary was the elder sister, as do most historians today.

Mary was one of the mistresses of King Henry VIII of England and also, allegedly, of his rival, King Francis I of France. She married twice.

Mary was born at Blickling Hall, Norfolk and grew up at the Boleyn residence, Hever Castle, Kent. She was the daughter of a wealthy diplomat, Sir Thomas Boleyn and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard. There is no concrete evidence of her exact date of birth, but it was clearly sometime between 1499 and 1508. Most now favour an earlier date of about 1499. There is firm documentary evidence to suggest that she was also the eldest of the three Boleyn children. The evidence suggests that the surviving Boleyns believed Mary to have been the eldest child; in 1597, her grandson—Lord Hunsdon—claimed the title of “earl of Ormonde” on the grounds that he was the Boleyns’ legitimate heir. According to the strict rules of aristocratic inheritance, if Anne had been the elder sister, the title would have belonged to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth—since a title descended through the eldest female line in the absence of a surviving male line. Logic, however, indicates that since Elizabeth had no children, the title would revert back to Mary's line, since she did have children. Therefore Mary's grandson would not be making an indirect assertion that his grandmother was the eldest, but rather the opposite.