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Mary Boleyn (Antonia Fraser, The Wives of Henry VIII (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1992), p. 119 – 19 or 30 July 1543), also known as Lady Mary, was the 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.Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, X, no.450.
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.
There is no evidence as to Mary's exact date of birth, but it occurred sometime between early 1499 and late 1500. Most historians suggest she was the eldest of the three surviving Boleyn children.Eric Ives, p. 17; Antonia Fraser, p. 119; Joanna Denny, p. 27. All three scholars argue that Mary was the eldest of the three Boleyn children. Evidence suggests that the Boleyn family treated Mary as the eldest child; in 1597, her grandson George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon claimed the earldom of Ormond on the grounds that he was the Boleyns' legitimate heir. Many ancient peerages can descend through female heirs without an immediate male heir. If Anne had been the elder sister, the better claim to the title would have belonged to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. However, it appears that Queen Elizabeth offered Mary's son, Henry, the earldom as he was dying, although he declined it. If Mary had been the eldest Boleyn sister, Henry would have the better claim to the title, regardless of a new grant from the Queen. There is more evidence to suggest that Mary was older than Anne. She was married first, on 4 February 1520;The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: The Most Happy by Eric Ives an elder daughter traditionally married before a younger sister. Moreover, in 1532, when Anne was created Marchioness of Pembroke, she was referred to as "one of the daughters of Thomas Boleyn". Were she the eldest, that status would probably have been mentioned. Most historians now accept Mary as the eldest child, placing her birth sometime in 1499.
During her early years, it is most likely that Mary was educated alongside her brother George and her sister Anne at Hever Castle. She was given the conventional education deemed essential for young ladies of her rank and status, which included the basic principles of arithmetic, grammar, history, reading, spelling and writing. In addition to her family genealogy, Mary learned the feminine accomplishments of dancing, embroidery, etiquette, household management, music, needlework, singing, and games such as cards and chess. She was also taught archery, falconry, riding, and hunting.
Mary remained in England for most of her childhood until she was sent abroad in 1514 around the age of fifteen when her father secured her a place as maid-of-honour to the King's sister, Princess Mary, who was going to Paris to marry King Louis XII of France.
She returned to England in 1519, where she was appointed a maid-of-honour to Catherine of Aragon, the queen consort of Henry VIII.Marie-Louise Bruce, p. 13
It was rumoured that the King fathered one or both of Mary's children.Ives, Eric William (2004). "The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn", p. 369 (note 75). Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Even if this was so, however, Henry did not acknowledge either of them as his children, although he had previously acknowledged Henry FitzRoy, his son by another mistress, Elizabeth Blount.
Henry VIII's wife, Catherine of Aragon, had first been married to Henry's older brother Arthur when he was a little over fifteen years old, but Arthur died just a few months later. Henry later used this to justify the annulment of his marriage to Catherine, arguing that her marriage to Arthur had created an affinity between Henry and Catherine; as his brother's wife, under canon law, she became his sister. In 1527, during his initial attempts to obtain a papal annulment of his marriage to Catherine, Henry similarly requested a dispensation to marry Anne, the sister of his former mistress.Kelly, Henry Ansgar: The Matrimonial Trials of Henry VIII pp42 ff
Although Mary is said to have been more attractive than her sister, Anne seems to have been more ambitious and intelligent. When the King took an interest in Anne, she refused to become his mistress.Weir, p. 160 By the middle of 1526, Henry was determined to marry her. This gave him further incentive to seek the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. When Mary's husband died during an outbreak of sweating sickness, Henry granted Anne Boleyn the wardship of her nephew, Henry Carey. Mary's husband had left her with considerable debts, and Anne arranged for her nephew to be educated at a respectable Cistercian monastery. Anne also interceded to secure an annual pension of £100 for her widowed sister.Karen Lindsey, p. 73
In 1534, Mary secretly married an Essex landowner's younger son: William Stafford (later Sir William Stafford). Since Stafford was a soldier, his prospects as a second son so slight, and his income so small, many believed that the union was a love match. When Mary became pregnant, the marriage was discovered. Queen Anne was furious, and the Boleyn family disowned Mary. The couple were banished from court.
Mary's financial circumstances became so desperate that she begged the King's chief adviser Thomas Cromwell to speak to Henry and Anne. She admitted that she might have chosen "a greater man of birth" but never one that should have loved her so well, nor a more honest man. And she went on, "I had rather beg my bread with him than to be the greatest queen in Christendom. And I believe verily ... he would not forsake me to be a king". Henry, however, seems to have been indifferent to her plight. Mary asked Cromwell to speak to her father, her uncle, and her brother, but to no avail. Anne relented, sending Mary a magnificent golden cup and some money, but still refused to reinstate her position at court. This partial reconciliation was the closest the two sisters attained; it is not thought that they met after Mary's exile from the King's court.
Mary's life between 1534 and her sister's execution on 19 May 1536 is difficult to trace. There is no record of Mary visiting her siblings Anne and George in the Tower of London when they were imprisoned, awaiting their executions. Her mother died in April 1538, and was buried in the Howard family mausoleum at the Garden Museum, and her father died in March of the following year and was buried at St. Peter's Church, Hever, but there is also no record of Mary visiting her parents in the last years of their lives.
Mary died of unknown causes on 19 or 30 July 1543, most likely at Rochford Hall, Essex.
Mary's marriage to William Stafford (d. 5 May 1556) may have resulted in the birth of two further children:Hart p. 118
Mary has been the central character in three novels based on her life:
Philippa Gregory later nominated Mary as her heroine in an interview with BBC History magazine. Her novel spawned five others in the same series but drew criticism for its lack of historical accuracy. For example, Gregory characterises Anne, not Mary, as the elder sister and does not mention Mary's relationships before her affair with Henry.Gregory, Philippa, "The Other Boleyn Girl"
Mary is a character in several films and television series:
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