Page 31 - All About History - Issue 180-19

Rise And Fall Of The Boleyns

An illustration of Anne from
The Queens Of England, Or
Royal Book Of Beauty

King’s Mistress,

Queen’s sister

Mary Boleyn’s turbulent tale

Anne Boleyn was not the first member of her
family to catch Henry VIII’s eye, for his gaze
had first landed upon her sister, Mary. Having
been wed to William Carey in 1520 Mary was
a married woman, but this did not deter the
king. Their affair was, however, conducted
with such discretion that it is uncertain
precisely when it began, although 1522 is the
likeliest date. It was almost certainly over by
Getty Images 1525 when Mary bore her second child, a son,
but there is some doubt over the paternity
of her daughter, Katherine, who was born in
1524. Could she have been the king’s child? It
is certainly possible. In 1528 Mary’s husband
died, and six years later she secretly remarried.
Her second husband was the lowly born
William Stafford, and by her own admission
she claimed that when making her choice
“love overcame reason.” So outraged was her
sister Anne, now queen, that she banished
Mary from court. But Mary had

© Alamy no regrets, and defiantly
declared that she would
rather “beg my
bread with him
than to be
the greatest
queen
Conscious of the way in which her sister had christened.”
been discarded and highly ambitious like her She alone of
father, Anne steadfastly refused to become Henry’s “Anne wAs not her siblings
mistress. Unused to such a rebuff, this left him survived
both surprised and intrigued. But instead of considered the fall of the
retreating and pressing his advances elsewhere, Boleyn family
it instead served to heighten his passion for BeAutiful, But in 1536, and lived
Anne. He wrote her copious love letters in which out the rest of her
he passionately poured out his feelings for her, henry found her days quietly. She died at
declaring that “my heart shall be dedicate to you Rochford Hall in 1543.
alone.” Anne though, had higher aspirations, and wit And chArm
continued to spurn Henry. irresistiBle”
In the spring of 1527 Henry’s feelings for
Anne proved to be the catalyst in what became
known as the king’s ‘Great Matter’, as he began an
investigation into the validity of his marriage to
Catherine of Aragon. He had long since tired of his
wife, and more crucially, Catherine had failed to
provide him with a male heir: her only surviving
child was a daughter, Mary. Henry became
convinced that his lack of a son was God’s divine
judgement on his marriage and was determined to
have it annulled: what was more, Anne would be
the ideal replacement. He was confident that if he
were to marry her, Anne would provide him with

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