Good Afternoon To You, My Gentle Friends,

Lady Mary Boleyn was born in Blickling Hall in Norfolk, sometime between 1499 and 1504. Mary was the Granddaughter to Thomas Howard, The Second Duke of Norfolk. Lady Mary was a daughter of Elizabeth Howard and her husband, Thomas Boleyn, The First Earl of Wiltshire, who was a leading diplomat. Lady Mary had a Brother, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, Two Brothers, Thomas and Henry, both of whom died young, and of course, a Sister, Anne Boleyn, who was the Second Wife of King Henry VIII.

At one time, Mary was the mistress of King Henry VIII of England, and she is purported to have been the mistress of King Francis I of France as well.

Lady Mary Boleyn was married twice to members of King Henry's Court, and she bore children who were in the Court of her niece, Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Mary was generally believed to have been older than her famous sister, Anne, though there is some controversy regarding this. It was once believed that it was Mary who spent time as a companion to the Archduchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of King Maximillian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy, but it has now become clear that it was Lady Anne Boleyn.\

In her biography of Anne Boleyn, Joanne Denny writes that Mary's grandson, Lord Hunsdon stated that he was certain that Mary was the elder sister. In 1597, he claimed the Earldom of Ormonde through his grandmother. If Anne had been the elder sister, then it would have been her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, who would have had the right to the Title.

Several books mention the fact that Mary Boleyn accompanied Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, who had become the new Queen Consort 0f King Louis XII of France, to France, as Maid of Honour. While many of the Queen's English maids were ordered to leave France, Mary Boleyn was allegedly permitted to remain, probably because of her father's connections as the new English Ambassador.

When Mary Tudor left Franch after King Louis XII's death on January 01, 1515, Mary Boleyn allegedly stayed in the Court of the new King and Queen, King Francis I and Queen Claude of France.

This is believed to have led to Mary becoming the mistress to the new King of France, who reportedly called Mary "my English mare" and "a great whore, the most infamous of all", in his later years. Many believe this story, given that Mary subsequently later embarked on numerous scandalous affairs. As for the rumour regarding King Francis I of France, there is no definitive proof. It is generally accepted by many historians. Her sister, Anne, and her father eventually joined her in France, both of them apparently mortified by Mary's actions. Mary was sent home in either 1519 or 1520 following the illicit marriage of Queen Mary Tudor. Mary Boleyn was then placed in the service of Queen Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Catherine had served as the Queen Consort of King Henry VIII since June 11, 1509.

Shortly after going back to England, Mary Boleyn married Sir William Carey, a Courtier, on February 04, 1520. King Hemry VIII attended their wedding, and offered a Wedding Gift of 6 Shillings, 8 Pence in the Chapel. Mary soon became King Henry's lover. Popular legend states that Mary bore Henry two illegitimate children, but this seems unlikely. One witness did note that Mary's son had a strong resemblance to Henry VIII, but this could have been conjecture, flattery, or a lie. Henry usually acknowleged all male bastards as His own and when He finished his affair with Mary, he had not yet fallen in love with her sister Anne, thus meaning that there was no reason for Him to deny paternity of the child if He had been the father. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that Mary's youngest daughter, Catherine, was not born until 1529, by which time King Henry's affair with her had been over for almost six years., Mary's children both bore the surname of "Carey", and it has been suggested that Sir William Carey received his knighthood and lands because he was married to the King's mistress of official father of the King's bastards. However, even before his marriage to Mary Boleyn, William Carey was a prominent Courtier and a favourite of the King.

Mary's sister was called back to England in 1522, and it is uncertain just how much effect either sister had on the rising fortunes of their father, Thomas Boleyn, who was created a Viscount in 1525. But by the middle of 1523, Mary's affair with King Henry VIII was finished. A year or so later, King Henry fell victim to the charms of the brilliant, bewitching, and cultured Anne Boleyn. King Henry was so determined to possess Anne Boleyn ( to the point of citizens suspecting witchcraft on Anne's part ) that by 1527, King Henry had proposed marriage to Anne.

A year later, when Mary's husband, Sir William Carey died during an outbreak of the sweats, King Henry VIII promptly granted Anne Boleyn the wardship of her nephew ( and possibly his son ), two-year-old Henry Carey. At the time of Sir William Carey's death, Mary was pregnant with his daughter, who was born in 1529, and was named Catherine. Anne arranged for Mary's son to be educated at a respectable Cistercian Monastery. Mary's callous father showed no intention of helping her in the financial plight resulting from Sir William Carey's death. It was only by Anne's intercession with Henry that Mary was able to secure a small annual pension.

When Anne went to Calais with Henry VIII in 1532, Mary was one of Anne's companions. Anne was crowned Queen of England on Juen 01, 1533. In 1534, Mary secretly married Sir William Stafford, an usher of no rank and small income. When this was discovered, Mary's family disowned her for marrying beneath her station, and the couple was banished from Court.

In late 1534, while Mary's father, Thomas, and her brother, George, received numerous grants, titles and other gifts, Mary was reduced to begging Thomas Cromwell to speak to King Henry on her behalf. Mary hoped the King Henry VIII would persuade Anne to forgive her, but her former lover was less than helpful. So Mary asked Thomas Cromwell to speak to her father, her uncle, and her brother, but to no avail. Anne sent Mary a magnificent gold cup and some money. This partial reconciliation was the closest the two sisters ever came again, since they did not meet between 1534 and the time of Anne death on May 19, 1536.

Mary's life between 1534 and Anne's execution on May 19, 1536 is difficult to trace. Mary did not visit her sister when Queen Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Nor did she visit their brother, George, also condemned to death on charges of treason ( Anne and George were accused of incest ). There is no evidence that Mary wrote to them, either. Like their Uncle, Thomas Howard, The Third Duke of Norfolk, Mary may have thought it wise to avoid association with her disgraced relatives.

Mary seems to have resided at Rochford, Essex, and she lived out the rest of her days in anonymity with her husband.

As to Mary Boley's Two Marriages:

Mary Married Firstly, William Carey, on February 04, 1520. This marriage resulted in the birth of two children:

1. Henry Carey, the First Baron of Hunsdon, who was born on March 04, in either 1525 or 1526, and he died on July 23, 1596. He was ennobled by Queen Elizabeth I, just after Her Coronation, and not on his deathbed. He was a Knight of the Garter. Elizabeth offered Henry the Title of Earl of Ormonde, which he had long sought, when he was dying, but he refused the honour.

2. Catherine Carey, who was born around 1529, and died in 1568. She was a Maid of Honour to Queen Anne of Cleves, King Henry VIII's Fourth Wife. Catherine was married to Sir Francis Knollys, Knight of the Garter since 1593, in 1540. One of their daughters, Lettice Knollys, became the Second Wife of Robert Dudley, The First Earl of Leicester, the favourite of Elizabeth I's who was reputed to have been romantically involved with Elizabeth, and married Lettice out of spite.

It is actually possible that Catherine was the elder of Mary ( Boleyn ) Carey's first two children. as the exact dates are still uncertain.

Both children have been suggested as illegitimate offspring of King Henry VIII of England, although many historians consider this to be unlikely.

Sir William Carey died on June 22, 1529.

In 1534, Mary Married Secondly, to Sir William Stafford.

From this marriage, the couple had a son, who is considered to have been born in 1535 and to have died in 1545. There was also a daughter, named Anne. This, however, is open to much speculation.

Mary seems to have resided at Rochford, Essex, England, and she lived out the rest of her days in anonymity with her husband, Sir William Stafford. She passed from this life on July 19, 1543.

Sir William Stafford passed from this life on May 05, 1556.