by Annalyn Andriyenko

Created on: October 06, 2009   Last Updated: October 07, 2009

Mary Boleyn was born in 1499 (or a bit later in the early 1500's, some historians like to believe) to her parents Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard. She is most recognized for being the older sister of Anne Boleyn, the future Queen of England. Mary stayed in England for most of her childhood and never went aboard for studies unlike her sister Anne who spent some time in Austria.

She went to France with her father for a visit as she entered her teenage years. Many historians feel there is an exaggeration between her relations with the king of France, Francis I. When she returned to England sometime around 1519 to 1520, she was given the title of maid of honor, an attendant, to the Queen, Catherine of Aragon.

Soon after she had married Sir William Carey, who was a wealthy nobleman. Little is known much about her life at this point except that during around February or March of 1520, she began to have relations with the king of England, Henry VIII. She kept it in private and didn't much like to be known as the king's mistress, although some key points note that she had strong feelings for him.

She had given birth to her daughter Catherine and son Henry around 1524 and 1526 respectively. There is much debate whether her children where the king's or not, but since the affair had seemed to end around the date she was pregnant with Catherine, it had become dismissed. As her sister slowly became the fond new conquest of the king, Mary's husband had fallen ill with sweating sickness, quickly passing away leaving Mary to fend for herself with the debts. Anne gave her a small pension although, surely not enough for all the money to be paid back.

Anne was finally crowned queen in June of 1533. Mary noticed her sister's new clench of power and didn't want her to find out that she had secretly married a soldier for love, William Stafford. Since a soldier's life was much more like that of a commoner, Mary knew her sister would be angry finding out the news and when Anne got ear of it, the couple were to be banished from the court of England.

Mary's status money wise was that she was desperate enough to beg of that of the king, but to no avail. She then asked her father and even Thomas Cromwell, the king's adviser. When all else failed, Anne still showed remorse for her sister, giving her a small amount of money and an intricate goblet.

When her sister's execution rolled around the corner the whole Boleyn family was considered wicked for being associated with the treason riddled queen and were to be outcasts. Mary and her husband had lived a quiet and peaceful life in Rochford then after, before she had passed away around 1543.

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