About Me
I am best known as the sister of Anne Boleyn. I am generally regarded as the more promiscuous, taking several sexual partners in my lifetime, while Anne is considered the more devious, wittier, stylish one. I was also the mistress of Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France. I was married twice to members of Henry's court and bore children who were in the court of my niece Elizabeth I of England.
I was born at Hever Castle, Kent, and named after Princess Mary Tudor, the youngest child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. My parents are Lady Elizabeth Howard and leading diplomat Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire.
I accompanied Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth of York who had become the new Queen consort of Louis XII of France, to France, as Maid of Honour. I later embarked on numerous scandalous affairs, one of which was with Francis I of France. This eventually lead to my dismissal and me being sent back to England.
Several years after my return to England, I was given in marriage to Sir William Carey on February 4, 1520, a courtier. Henry VIII was a guest at our wedding, and it was after the marriage that the affair began between Henry and myself. The affair continued for some time, I bore him two illegitimate children.
The children both bore the surname of Carey, and my husband received his knighthood and lands because he was married to the king's mistress and official father of the king's bastards.
Anne was called back to England in 1522. By mid-1523, my affair with Henry was finished, short of brief liaisons. A year or so later, Henry fell victim to the charms of my sister.
Although I was more appealing and more attractive physically than my sister Anne, it was my sister who was more assertive. While attractive, Anne was not a great beauty of the time, considered too thin and too dark, although many people commented on her magnificent dark eyes and beautiful dark hair. I, on the other hand, had traditional good looks, buxom, with a nice figure, with fair hair, skin, and eyes. What Anne lacked physically she made up for with her fashion sense and knowledge of the overall events behind the scenes in the royal court, inspiring many new fashion trends, and portraying an outgoing personality. Henry was so determined to possess Anne, he had proposed marriage.
A year later, when my husband died during an outbreak of the sweats, Henry VIII promptly granted Anne the wardship of mine and Henry's son, two-year-old Henry Carey. At the time of William's death, I was pregnant with Henry's daughter - who was born in 1529 and named Catherine. Anne arranged for my son to be educated at a respectable Cistercian monastery. My callous father showed no intention of helping me in the financial plight resulting from my husband's death. It was only Anne's intercession on the part of me, with Henry, that secured me a small annual pension of £100 yearly.
When Anne went to Calais with Henry VIII in 1532, I was one of Anne's companions. Anne was crowned Queen on June 1, 1533. In 1534, I secretly married Sir William Stafford, an usher and soldier of no rank and small income. When this was discovered, my family disowned me for marrying beneath my station, and we were banished from the Court by Anne. This would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
In late 1534, while my father and brother received numerous grants, titles, and other gifts, I was reduced to begging Thomas Cromwell to speak to Henry on my behalf. I hoped Henry would persuade Anne to forgive me but he was less than helpful. So I asked Cromwell to speak to my father, my uncle, and my brother, but to no avail. Anne, however, sent me a magnificent golden cup and some money. This partial reconciliation was the closest the two of us ever came again, since we did not meet between 1534 and Anne's death in 1536.
My life between 1534 and my sister's execution on May 19, 1536 was a difficult one. I did not visit my mother, nor did I visit my sister when the latter was imprisoned in the Tower of London. I also made no attempts to visit my brother George, also condemned to death on charges of treason (he and my sister were accused of incest). I thought it was wise to avoid association with my disgraced relatives.
My husband and I remained outcasts living in rustic retirement at Rochford in Essex. This turned out to be just as well, for we were able to escape any involvement in the witch-hunt surrounding the eventual disgrace, trial and execution of both Anne and my brother George, as well as the five other young men in that circle.
After Anne’s execution, my mother retired in disgrace from the royal court, dying in seclusion just over a year after the executions. My father died the following year. After my parents' death I inherited some of the Boleyn properties in Essex. I lived out the rest of my days in anonymity and relative comfort with my husband. However I died at 44, a relatively young age, on July 19, 1543.
