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8 | <title>Mary Boleyn: Biography, Portrait, Primary Sources
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9 | </title>
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24 | <td width="50%" height="3"><font size="3"></font></td>
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27 | <tr>
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28 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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29 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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30 | <p align="center"> </p>
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31 | <p align="center">
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32 | <img border="0" src="../maryboleyn.gif" alt="Mary Boleyn" width="493" height="144"></p>
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33 | <p align="center">
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34 | <img border="2" src="maryboleynunknown.jpg" width="359" height="480" alt="portrait of Mary Boleyn by an unknown artist"></p>
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35 | <blockquote>
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36 | <p align="left"><br><font face="Arial" size="4">Mary Boleyn was the sister of
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37 | King Henry VIII's second wife, the infamous Anne Boleyn. But she was
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38 | also the king's mistress before her sister's ascendancy. She may also have given birth
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39 | to Henry's son.</font></p>
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40 | <hr>
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41 | </blockquote>
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42 | <blockquote>
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43 | <p align="left"> </p>
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44 | </blockquote>
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45 | </td>
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46 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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47 | </tr>
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48 | </table>
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49 | <blockquote>
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50 | <blockquote>
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51 |
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52 |
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53 |
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54 | <p>Information about the life of Mary Boleyn is sketchy at best.
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55 |
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56 | Before her sister's ascendancy, Mary was the most famous member of her
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57 |
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58 | family, a dubious honor since it was based upon her adulterous affair with
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59 |
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60 | King Henry VIII. There has been great debate over the exact year
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61 |
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62 | of her birth, with many researchers unable to agree on which Boleyn sister
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63 |
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64 | was older. Some speculate Anne was born in 1501 or 1502; others place
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65 |
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66 | it at 1507. The most recent scholarship supports 1507 as the year
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67 |
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68 | of Anne's birth. Mary was born a year later, in 1508. Their
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69 |
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70 | only surviving sibling was an older brother George, born in 1503.
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71 |
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72 | <p> Mary was born at Hever Castle, the family seat.
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73 |
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74 | She was named after Princess Mary Tudor, the youngest child of Henry VII
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75 |
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76 | and Elizabeth of York. Her family was loyal to the Tudor dynasty
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77 |
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78 | but had Yorkist connections. Her mother was Elizabeth Howard, daughter
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79 |
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80 | of Thomas, earl of Surrey. His father, the 1st duke of Norfolk, had
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81 |
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82 | died fighting for Richard III against Henry VII. Mary's father, Thomas
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83 |
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84 | Boleyn, could trace his ancestry only to the 13th century. His family
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85 |
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86 | was originally from Norfolk where they lived as tenant farmers. In
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87 |
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88 | 1457, a Sir Geoffrey Boleyn was serving as Lord Mayor of London.
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89 |
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90 | He wed Anne, heiress of Lord Hoo and Hastings, and - through her - acquired
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91 |
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92 | Hever Castle in Kent and Blickling Hall in Norfolk. His son became
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93 |
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94 | a knight under Richard III and a baron under Henry VII. He married
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95 |
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96 | a great heiress as well; she was Margaret, daughter of Thomas Butler, 7th
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97 |
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98 | earl of Ormond. He was incredibly wealthy and bequeathed Margaret
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99 |
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100 | 36 manors. Their eldest child was Thomas Boleyn, Mary's father.
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101 |
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102 | Thomas had married Elizabeth Howard by 1501. Their three surviving
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103 |
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104 | children were born within the next 10 years.
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105 |
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106 | <p> In 1512, Thomas was one of three envoys assigned
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107 |
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108 | to the regent of Netherlands court. His skill in speaking French
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109 |
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110 | and his family connections secured the appointment. Once there, he
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111 |
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112 | was a great success with the regent, Margaret, archduchess of Austria.
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113 |
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114 | He used this friendship to secure a prestigious appointment for his eldest
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115 |
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116 | daughter, Anne; she was to reside with the regent's wards, sharing their
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117 |
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118 | royal education. This is the primary evidence that Anne was the elder
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119 |
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120 | sister. In such cases, the elder sister would receive the opportunity
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121 |
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122 | first.
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123 |
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124 | <p> However, Mary was married before Anne - an unusual
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125 |
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126 | occurrence and one which led many to believe Mary was older. However,
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127 |
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128 | it is completely plausible that Anne was not married first because she
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129 |
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130 | was still in Europe, gaining a royal education and hoping to wed a foreign
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131 |
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132 | nobleman. Mary, on the other hand, wed a man named William Carey,
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133 |
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134 | a gentleman of the royal privy chamber on 4 February 1520. Though
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135 |
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136 | he was not a titled lord, his duties meant he had intimate contact with
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137 |
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138 | the king on a daily basis. He would be a valuable connection for
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139 |
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140 | the Boleyns. Henry used his attendants, with whom he spent his leisure
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141 |
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142 | hours, to carry out government work. Carey was 24 years old and Mary
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143 |
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144 | not quite twelve, young even for 16th century marriage. The consummation
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145 |
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146 | of the marriage was probably delayed for a few years.
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147 |
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148 | <p> Mary's wedding was held a few weeks before her father
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149 |
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150 | returned from a mission abroad. This indicates that Thomas Boleyn
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151 |
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152 | had planned the marriage well in advance. The king gave the newlyweds
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153 |
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154 | a cash present - 6s.8d.; this was undoubtedly welcome since William Carey
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155 |
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156 | was a younger son and lacked money and lands. Henry's favor (and,
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157 |
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158 | more particularly, Mary's affair with Henry) helped in this respect - before
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159 |
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160 | his death in 1528, William had received two keeperships, a stewardship,
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161 |
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162 | an annuity, and manors in two counties. As to William's ancestry,
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163 |
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164 | he could trace his descent from Edward III; his mother was a cousin of
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165 |
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166 | Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother. His aunt Catherine Spencer
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167 |
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168 | was married to Henry, fifth earl of Northumberland.
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169 |
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170 | <p> As William's wife, Mary had lodgings at court, information
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171 |
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172 | about royal policies, and the great opportunity to participate in all court
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173 |
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174 | events. Their first child, Catherine, was born about 1524 when Mary
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175 |
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176 | was just sixteen. Meanwhile, her family continued its ascendancy
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177 |
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178 | during these years. Personally, she and her sister Anne were two
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179 |
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180 | of eight women who participated in a celebration at York Place, Cardinal
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181 |
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182 | Wolsey's home. Anne played Perseverance and Mary was Kindness; they
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183 |
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184 | were clothed in white satin with bejeweled headdresses. This was
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185 |
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186 | in 1522; Mary was just fourteen. By the time she was seventeen, Mary
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187 |
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188 | was a first-time mother and Henry VIII's mistress. There is much
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189 |
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190 | circumstantial evidence to support this:
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191 |
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192 | <blockquote>
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193 | <p>* in 1527, Henry was planning to marry Anne Boleyn. He
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194 |
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195 | sought and received a papal dispensation to marry the sister of a woman
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196 |
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197 | with whom he had engaged in illicit/unlawful intercourse. Anne had
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198 |
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199 | only one sister - Mary. </p>
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200 |
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201 | <p>* Reginald Pole reported the following - in 1528, a member of Parliament
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202 |
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203 | insulted the king's morals by accusing Henry of sleeping with Anne's mother
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204 |
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205 | <i>and</i>
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206 |
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207 | sister. Undoubtedly flustered, the king replied: "Never with
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208 |
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209 | her mother."
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210 |
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211 | <p>* the affair was known of in diplomatic circles - in 1532, Francis I
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212 |
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213 | of France met Mary face-to-face when she accompanied Henry and Anne to
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214 |
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215 | Calais. He mentioned her infamous behavior with her sister's spouse
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216 |
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217 | <i>before</i>
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218 |
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219 | the marriage to Anne.</blockquote>
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220 |
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221 | <p> The affair was brief, ending in mid-1525 (probably July.)
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222 |
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223 | On 4 March 1526, Mary gave birth to a son, called Henry. He was widely
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224 |
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225 | assumed to be the king's son. He physically resembled the king, a
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226 |
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227 | fact often remarked upon. In 1535, for example, a man called 'young
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228 |
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229 | Master Carey' the king's son. </p>
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230 |
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231 | <p> Perhaps more telling, Henry granted the Careys actual
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232 |
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233 | manors and estates during the affair and immediately before the child's
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234 |
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235 | birth. Before, the Careys had been granted rather minor offices.
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236 |
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237 | (You may recall that Henry publicly acknowledged another illegitimate son,
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238 |
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239 | born in 1519. This boy was called <a href="../fitzroy.html">Henry
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240 |
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241 | Fitzroy</a> - the surname traditionally given to royal bastards - and was
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242 |
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243 | ennobled, given the title duke of Richmond. If Henry Carey was also
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244 |
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245 | his son, why didn't Henry do the same for him? The answer lies in
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246 |
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247 | his determination to divorce Katharine of Aragon and marry <a href="../monarchs/boleyn.html">Anne
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248 |
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249 | Boleyn</a>, the child's aunt. It is likely that even Henry VIII would
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250 |
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251 | have been too embarrassed to recognize his bastard son by his fiancee's
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252 |
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253 | younger sister.) Henry Carey was eventually ennobled as Lord Hunsdon by
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254 | Elizabeth I, the queen who may have been his half-sister and was undoubtedly his
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255 | cousin. Though he served her ably, Elizabeth only offered Hunsdon a title
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256 | upon his deathbed. To this dubious honor, the old man aptly replied that
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257 | if the queen hadn't thought him worth it while he was in health, he would not
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258 | accept it while ill.<p> Mary Boleyn was referenced in <a href="../lovelett.html">Henry's
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259 |
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260 | love letters to Anne</a> in 1528, the year her husband died. William
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261 |
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262 | had asked Mary to seek her sister's influence with the king; his elder
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263 |
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264 | sister, Eleanor, wanted the position of abbess at St Edith's Nunnery.
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265 |
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266 | The nuns wanted their prioress elevated to the position instead.
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267 |
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268 | Anne asked the king to intervene. In the end, Eleanor's dubious moral
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269 |
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270 | destroyed her chances. But the episode demonstrates Anne's willingness
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271 |
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272 | to help Mary; also, Mary clearly expected to benefit from her sister's
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273 |
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274 | closeness to the king.
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275 |
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276 | <p> William Carey died on 23 June 1528 and Henry VIII
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277 |
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278 | promptly granted Anne Boleyn the wardship of her nephew (and possibly his
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279 |
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280 | son), two-year-old Henry Carey. In another letter to Anne, Henry
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281 |
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282 | remarked upon Mary's easy virtue. He and Anne were concerned that,
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283 |
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284 | after William's death, Mary's behavior would degenerate; in other words,
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285 |
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286 | she would be an embarrassment to the king and his intended wife.
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287 |
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288 | <p> In November 1530, Henry gave Anne 20 pds to redeem
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289 |
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290 | a jewel from Mary; it was probably a gambling debt. Two years later,
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291 |
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292 | Mary was one of thirty ladies who accompanied Henry and Anne on a visit
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293 |
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294 | to France (colorfully known to history as 'The Field of the Cloth of Gold'.)
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295 |
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296 | They stayed in Calais in late October, attending various events with Francis
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297 |
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298 | I; ostensibly, they were celebrating a new peace agreement. But it
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299 |
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300 | was also a chance to present Anne to a foreign king. When Henry wed
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301 |
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302 | Anne in 1533, Mary became a lady-in-waiting to her sister. It was
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303 |
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304 | only in 1534 that she and Anne had a serious conflict.
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305 |
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306 | <p> In 1534, Mary secretly married William Stafford.
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307 |
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308 | He was the younger son of Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwick in Northampton.
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309 |
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310 | This marriage was a disaster for her, excepting her personal happiness.
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311 |
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312 | Mary undoubtedly loved Stafford, a soldier she had met at Calais (he had
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313 |
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314 | been part of Henry VIII's retinue.) But her relatives - all newly
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315 |
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316 | ennobled and very self-conscious about their status - were outraged.
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317 |
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318 | He was a commoner, not fit for the queen's sister. Accordingly, Mary
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319 |
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320 | and her new husband were banished from court. (It is quite possible
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321 |
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322 | that her relatives planned to wed Mary to a nobleman, further cementing
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323 |
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324 | their rise to prominence; instead, her marriage was a step backwards socially.)
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325 |
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326 | In late 1534, while her father and brother received numerous grants, titles,
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327 |
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328 | and other gifts, Mary was reduced to begging Thomas Cromwell for assistance.
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329 |
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330 | Would he speak to Henry on her behalf? Mary hoped Henry would persuade
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331 |
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332 | Anne to forgive her but her former lover was less than helpful. So
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333 |
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334 | Mary asked Cromwell to speak to her father, her uncle, and her brother.
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335 |
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336 | <p> Meanwhile, her son was still living with his
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337 |
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338 | aunt, Queen Anne. He was being tutored by the great French poet,
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339 |
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340 | Nicholas Bourbon, clearly benefiting from the wardship. His mother's
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341 |
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342 | life between 1534 and her sister's execution in 1536 is difficult to trace.
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343 |
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344 | She seems to have resided at Rochford, Essex from the time of her disgrace
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345 |
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346 | to her death on 19 July 1543. When her sister fell into disfavor
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347 |
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348 | and Henry sought a divorce, his earlier affair with Mary was mentioned.
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349 |
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350 | Perhaps this would justify an annulment, even as Katharine of Aragon's
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351 |
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352 | marriage to his brother had? But no one seriously considered this
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353 |
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354 | (after all, there had been a papal dispensation) and it was more expedient
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355 |
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356 | to press other charges. Mary did not visit her sister when Anne was
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357 |
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358 | imprisoned in the Tower. Nor did she visit their brother George,
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359 |
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360 | also condemned to death. There is no evidence that she wrote to them,
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361 |
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362 | either. Like their uncle, the duke of Norfolk, she may have thought
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363 |
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364 | it wise to avoid association with her disgraced relatives.
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365 |
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366 | <p> Mary lived to see her children gain some royal favor.
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367 |
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368 | Her teenage daughter Catherine (born 1524) was appointed a maid of honor
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369 |
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370 | to Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife. Sometime in 1540, she
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371 |
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372 | made a good match, marrying Sir Francis Knollys. He was a member
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373 |
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374 | of Henry VIII's household. She also became one of her cousin Elizabeth
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375 |
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376 | Tudor's closest friends. Her daughter, Lettice Knollys, would later
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377 |
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378 | marry Elizabeth's great love, Robert Dudley; her son, the earl of Essex,
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379 |
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380 | would also be one of Elizabeth's favorites (though eventually executed
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381 |
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382 | for treason.) Henry Carey, whose paternity was the subject of such
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383 |
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384 | speculation, would be ennobled as Lord Hunsdon in Elizabeth's reign.
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385 |
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386 | Elizabeth was kind to her Boleyn relatives, especially Mary's children.
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387 |
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388 | Twenty-two years after Anne Boleyn's execution, a Boleyn was sole ruler
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389 |
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390 | of England. It was a triumph few could have predicted.<p> <hr WIDTH="100%">
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391 |
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392 | <p>
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393 |
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394 | <font size="2">Some other stuff about Mary Boleyn that I've found: </font>
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395 | </p>
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396 |
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397 | <p><font size="2">* Mary was considered more conventionally beautiful than Anne but lacked
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398 |
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399 | her sister's style and wit.
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400 |
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401 | <br>* As a child, Mary was taught French by Mademoiselle Semmonet;
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402 |
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403 | she also studied music (practicing on the lute, harp, viol, and virginals.)
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404 |
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405 | <br>* Mary also spent time in Archduchess Margaret's service; she was removed
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406 |
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407 | in 1518/19 by her father and placed in Katharine of Aragon's service.
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408 |
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409 | <br>* Anne and George Boleyn were very close and reportedly had little
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410 |
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411 | use for their sister, Mary. (This was reported by several foreign
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412 |
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413 | ambassadors.) </font>
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414 |
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415 | <p><font size="2">Note: I have read that Mary Boleyn accompanied Princess Mary Tudor
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416 |
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417 | to France, as a lady-in-waiting. However, the trip occurred in 1515;
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418 |
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419 | Mary would have been just 7 years old - so the assertion seems unlikely. </font>
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420 |
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421 | <p><font size="2">So the following questions remain:
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422 |
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423 | <br> * did she accompany Mary to France?
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424 |
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425 | <br> * did she use her influence with Mary Tudor to get
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426 |
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427 | Anne a position as lady-in-waiting to Katharine of Aragon (thus allowing
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428 |
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429 | Henry VIII and Anne to meet?) This has been mentioned in several
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430 |
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431 | books but, as I stated, it would mean Mary was a lady-in-waiting at the
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432 |
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433 | age of seven. </font>
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434 |
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435 | <p><font size=-1>I have used the spelling 'Boleyn' instead of 'Bullen'
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436 |
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437 | for one simple reason - it is how the family chose to spell it when they
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438 |
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439 | first rose to prominence. Certainly they thought 'Boleyn' was more
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440 |
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441 | elegant - I'll stay mum on that issue, but since most history texts also
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442 |
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443 | use 'Boleyn', it remains less confusing than switching between two surnames.</font><p align="center"><b>
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444 | <font face="Times New Roman">
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445 | <a href="../monarchs/boleyn.html">Visit the
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446 | Anne Boleyn website</a>.</font></b></p>
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447 |
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448 | <center>
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449 |
|
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450 | <p><font size=-1><a href="../citizens.html">to
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451 |
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452 | Tudor Citizens</a></font><br><font size=-1><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to Tudor
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453 |
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454 | England</a></font></center>
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455 |
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