Mary Boleyn: Is there more to know? 

This is such a treat every day. Thank you for all you do to share your knowledge with us. The bells ring for Mary.

I think it's fabulous that Mary married for love! Good for her! From what I've read, Marys husband was very good to her. It may have been what kept her head! Had she been around, at court when everything happened to Anne & George, who knows if she might've been swept up into it too!

We do not know her face...but we do know her heart. She chose love over wealth, power, and the favour of her family. She valued the honesty of her husband (beyond wisdom of years...for her husband was referred to as young), and trusted that he regarded her as an equal "the world set so little by me, and he so much, that I thought I could take no better way but to take him and forsake all other ways..." Mary Boleyn's heart was wise and true, and it brought her to a much happier end than her contemporaries.

After Mary died William did not remarry for 9 years, practically unheard of for a widower - or a widow, during this time. And his second marriage was a love match as well.

Thank you Claire! I just watched the movie, “The Other Boleyn Girl” again. I was wondering about all the facts they included. I noticed several embellished facts in the movie because of your great knowledge! So thank you again!

I love how the bells chimed when discussing her death. The bells also chimed during a video about her son and his death. 🔔 Timed that perfectly ❤

Thank you for this, Claire. I agree with you about the letter to Cromwell and have always felt that Mary was, perhaps, the most emotionally intelligent of the Boleyn children, even though she wasn’t portrayed as such. It’s very interesting to me that there is still a streak of Boleyn wilfulness in her behaviour, even so. I really loved this video, and you always enlighten me with your facts. Thanks again 💕

I am so excited I stumbled across your channel! I have been borderline obsessed with the entire Tudor/Plantagenent dynasty for about a year now. Thank you for the work you put into sharing information with us! Well done! 😁

I wish so much that more historians could dedicate their time to finding more.

Thanks! Learning up a little on Mary after learning she’s my 16th great grandmother

I don't often comment on videos, but I have so enjoyed watching your videos on the various Tudor figures. I love your fact based approach and have enjoyed learning where historical records and fiction meet and differ. Watching these videos has become part of my daily routine, especially on Sundays when I tend to watch documentaries and other historically based videos. Absolutely love these, thank you for making them!

I think you would have become a very successful investigator or detective , if you'd chosen that career. (I'm very happy you chose your current vocation instead!) Thank you for all your excellent videos & posts, you're awesome.

At time when being a member of the Court was very risky, Mary was very lucky she found true love.

If only the artists back in the day had thought of putting the names of their subjects on the back of the paintings! How frustrating it is not knowing who these people are 😫 😩. Or even what year they were painted. I have a question. Is there any evidence that Anne or Mary Boleyn ever met, socialized, or communicated with their cousin Katherine Howard? Thanks for another great video! Missed the surprise guest stars! Lol. Love you, have a great day! 🙋💖👸👑💜

I'm always annoyed when I read about Anne and the way she and her family banished Mary from court and their lives after she married for love. So so annoyed with Anne. It ended up being the best thing that could ever happened to Mary, it saved her life and it gave her happiness with a man who truly loved her.

Thank you. I really love your approach. So much we want to believe about these historical figures, but I love that you focus on the actual facts and debunk some of the claims that are out there.

Claire, once again you’ve outdone yourself. I so appreciate your programs. Thank you!

I congratulate you on your books. I can only imagine how much work went into the requisite research, authorship and edits. I don’t have time to read right now so I enjoy your videos immensely. Thank you.

🇭🇲🦘 Great to have those 7 questions about Mary Boleyn answered to the best of your knowledge. I believe that if you can't find out, then nobody can! You were able to get definitive answers to some though. Interesting that there is a Coroner's record of Mary's death (so a date of death) even listing her properties, but no documentation (even church records) of where she was buried. Frustratingly fascinating! Thank you Claire 🔔👑👍

Love this video, I always find myself wishing for more letters, more accounts, and simply more information about these women! Very grateful you’ve made this video and even included sourcing that would otherwise be difficult to find

I'm a direct descendant of Mary through her son Henry! I love learning about this time in history!

I have to say, I just love watching your videos. You are so knowledgeable and I learn so much. Love from the USA!

I absolutely and thoroughly enjoy Claire!! I have learned so much and appreciate her knowledge on a subject that really interests me. Thanks for these videos!

I am so glad i found you Claire... having read so much Tudor history obsessionally for years I was beginning to feel sad as I felt this passion ending...but you have reawakened it and I feel I could go over it all again with new eyes.....

Fascinating. Thank you for your diligence in researching this woman. Not being a court sounds like the best place for her to be before, during and after her sister and brother's death. Love the timeliness of the bells.

Thank you, I have been enjoying your videos. I have recently learned that I am descended from a Catherine Howard, aunt of the unfortunate teenage queen of that name. The aunt married Rhys ap Gruffydd, and the pair have many descendants in the USA. I am going to go back through your videos concerning Queen Catherine Howard. I enjoy the great details you add to make these people come to life. If you find anything about my ancestors that may be of general interest I hope you will mention it. I will continue watching!

I love this channel. That is very Interesting to know that Elizabeth’s cousin Henry Carey served in her court

Boleyn cousin's represent! Mary is my (many greats) grandmother. I know my cousins are out there! Sending you all love! I am also related to the House of Stewart via James IV of Scotland. No wonder I have so much inner conflict.

Just purchased three of your books and I can’t wait to read them!

made my day by posting this

Very interesting that Mary is such a mystery. Thank you for another wonderful video.

One thing we can learn from Mary Boleyn´s life is that people COULD escape the toxic life at court if they had the will to do so. Something it is very hard to understand is how and why people remained at court after their relatives and friends were executed. I am just beginning Julia Fox´s book on Jane, Lady Rochford. I do not know her full story so I cannot have an opinion about her life but if I was her, I would have run as hard and far away as I could after May 1536. I would rather have been a peasant, or a beggar or I would have gotten to France and joined a convent. But then I think maybe Jane had to stay in the royal circle to support herself or help her family. What we learn from Mary Boleyn is it was possible to get away and find happiness, in her case with a good man who was only distantly connected to the royal court. There were ramifications and pressures from family but Mary was safely away and hopefully happy when her family was so brutally attacked and destroyed by the king.

Happy Saturday from rainy California!

Brilliant and thank you 🙏❤️

There is a beautiful little portrait of a Tudor lady in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, said to be Mary Boleyn.

Makes my day!

Doing my family research I found out that Mary Boleyn is one of my 13th Great Grandmother's and her husband Wiliam Carey is my 13th Great Grandfather.

It’s so sad her grave is not known to us. I wonder why she was not given a headstone and her place of burial was lost? My best friend is a descendant of her. Princess Diana was a descendant as well. That means her son Prince William is as well. ❤❤

I'm such a sucker for history and facts. I stumbled upon your videos and I adore them. Just fascinating me! I always felt that Anne wasn't the hussy she was portrayed as in history and your information makes me feel more confident in my belief. (And I'm American lol it's weird I'm so interested to begin with) I also enjoyed learning about her sister! I'll definitely keep watching your videos! Thank you!

Really loved this video. I wouldlove know more about her too

I have a weird question - is it possible that she made sure to remain a mystery, so that she distance herself from her family ?

As always, very interesting contribution to the truth.

Interesting stuff. I’m going to try to order your books 😊

Thank you so much on sharing some Tudor history facts because now I know so much more history about the Tudors then I did I only knew the six wives.

Thank you, Claire! Such an enigma that Mary... :-)

Hello Claire, I was just curious, sometimes its listed that Mary Boleyn had four children, two Catherine and Henry, from her first marriage, and then Edward Stafford, and Anne Stafford, from her second marriage. Can you possibly describe the evidence of these claims, as I was often of the same opinion you hold in this video. That there were three children, Catherine, Henry, and the unknown Stafford child which probably died in infancy. Thanks, love your channel!

Anne Boleyn was an important figure in history for many reasons; she helped dispose of and replaced a Queen and Princess of birth, she inspired England’s break from the Catholic Church, she set a precedent for the execution of royals and so much more. However, I am curious if she would remain as popular throughout history if she had not given birth and was Mother to one of the greatest monarchs in England’s history, Queen Elizabeth I. Mary Boleyn’s line rose greatly due to their relation with Queen Elizabeth I and I’ve always heard - not sure if true - that Elizabeth wore a piece of jewelry that contained a miniature of Anne Boleyn. I wonder if Anne had not born any children, if she would remain as adored and significant as she is today, or if her memory would have been reduced to just her short role as one of the many Queens of Henry VIII. Just as Catherine is remembered as Henry’s first wife, the Spanish Princess of Ferdinand and Isabel, wed first to Prince Arthur and Mary’s Mother. As Jane Seymour is remembered as the favored wife, the mother of the Prince, as reserved and pious. Anne of Cleve’s is remembered as granting Henry a divorce, staying in favor, surviving and becoming Henry’s sister - and so on and so forth with his other two Catherines. I wonder if Anne Boleyn would be as significantly remembered had she not had Elizabeth I.

Love you!

Thank you

It is such a beautiful letter!

Wonderful - very interesting. She is an enigma but I am glad she made a happy marriage.

Today I went to Rochford Hall and St Andrews Church opposite. This church yard is more than likely to be her last resting place as the tower there was paid for by her maternal great grandfather, Earl of Ormonde.

What is the lute piece being played at the beginning and the end? It’s beautiful. I love the music of the Renaissance era.

Loving this thank you

Does it bother anyone else that Anne and Mary never look remotely like sisters in any films/tv programs? For instance, I like the casting of Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn in the Other Boleyn Girl, but Scarlett Johansson looks nothing like her 😂 also, how come we never see their mother depicted?

Hi Claire, hope your having a great day in beautiful Spain! been watching your videos for sometime now but must admit mostly on my TV rather than my PC, thus I don't always give a thumbs up or down where I should and I am sorry for that. Own your book The Fall of Anne Boleyn and have it on my Kindle. I think myself an expert on the Tudors, but in truth are from being so. Just want to say thanks for all the great info that you pass on, there is always something to learn! I wish that at some point Henry The 8th's body could be exhumed and put to tests available, how do you feel on that matter? Anyhow, thanks again and have yourself a great weekend-Dan, Vancouver BC Canada.

It just seems to me that, since Mary Boleyn was at the French court, if she were, in fact, the mistress of the French king, SOMEONE in France would have written a description of her, as was done with other mistresses of kings. According to this listed citation here below, a letter from the Bishop of Faenza in 1536 is the only contemporary record of it [Mary's liaison with the King of France], but there are issues with his letter. under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/mary-boleyn.html

The king locked himself away in a country house during the arrests and imprisonment of Anne and her co-accused so that nobody could come to plead for any of them. Only Cromwell and certain lawyers had access to Henry Vlll during this time, and all letters went through Cromwell before ever reaching the king, and it seems only Cranmers letter reached him. The king wasn't prepared to listen to any pleas for the accused, and certainly not from the banished Mary.

Good video! I'm interested if anyone has any information on what happened to Thomas Boleyn after his children were beheaded? Where he went, if him and his last surviving daughter Mary ever met again, I wonder what he did with the rest of his life when at one point he had it all. Love from USA

There's no reason those portraits couldn't be Anne instead of Mary. Hit me like a jolt for some reason ... but I have no knowledge to back that up.

This is link to Claire's post that includes the list of properties Mary & William owned and passed down to Henry Carey. Has anyone ever done an investigation of these properties to see if there are any clues as to her involvement in them to perhaps fill in her timeline? www.theanneboleynfiles.com/19-july-1543-death-mary-boleyn/

I wonder if her banishment from court actually saved her life. It's interesting to think of whether if she had been present during her sister's trial, if there would have been an attempt to implicate mary in some way.

Is it right to assume that Mary was older than Anne, since she was married first?

🇺🇸How did inheritance for females work in England at that time? Jane Austin books & movies usually mention the unfair act of property being handed down to a son and not a daughter. It’s funny you mention Louisa May Alcott since her book little women is one of my favorite books of all time. 🇬🇧

Looking at the Howards though one can get an idea of their looks. I wish we knew what Mary looked like for certain.

I enjoyed your video of mary boleyn I was wondering what happened to her now I know

Mary got her looks from the ‘milkman’😉

Since Mary Boleyn and her second husband William Stafford brobably spend some time or years in Calais. Could it possible be any records in France about them ?

Mary Boleyn born 1499 Newry, Down, Ireland. Her brother George Boleyn born April 1504 Newry, Down, Ireland. Anna Boleyn born Newry, Down, Ireland.

Always had the impression that Ann was the brains and that Mary was the beauty. Is that true?

I feel sad that we just don’t know where Mary was buried or what she died of.

I was aware that Mary survived because she removed herself from court? Could Catherine Carey be the same in looks as her mother?

Her niece Elizabeth the first Make sure to look after Mary And her children

i want to purchase the fall of anne boleyn.. but i am coming from switzerland... any advise?

Do you think it is possible to get any kind of clue on how Mary looked by looking at the portrait said to be of her daughter, Catherine? In this portrait, Catherine seems to resemble Elizabeth I quite a bit, in terms of colouring and also the shape of her nose and eyes. Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn were both described as being swarthy (yes, there is an account that describes Elizabeth as such) and Thomas Howard, uncle to the Boleyn girls, seems to have looked very swarthy judging by his portrait. So would it be fair to say Mary could have been swarthy skinned, if we go by the portrait of her daughter and the accounts and portraits of her other family members? I also detect a golden red hint to Catherine Carey's hair (this is all assuming the portrait actually is of her), so maybe Mary's hair was a similar colour. After all, Anne had a reddish hue to her dark hair from the portrait evidence. It takes two parents to carry a red hair gene apparently, so if we go by Elizabeth I and her red hair, that would mean both her parents, Henry and Anne, would have to be carriers of the gene. So Anne had it in her family. If I was to make a very wild guess, I would say that Elizabeth Howard was dark haired and swarthy (going by her brother Thomas) and that Thomas Boleyn was fair/red haired or at least carried that gene. Make what you will of my musings! Haha.

The Boleyn girls' uncle Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk was described as olive skinned and he seems to have dark eyes in his portrait, so I'm guessing Anne got her colouring from the Howards.

I do not understand how Elizabeth II and King Charles III are descended from Mary Boleyn. Explain that?

Happy caterday claire

Hi Claire! Didn't Catherine Howard have a fair complexion and lighter hair? Maybe that can be evidence or supportive details as to why it is thought or said that Mary takes over more of the Howard genes :)

Do you think she was kept safe away via Elizabeth. I'd like to think she learned about her mother what she could via her Aunt.

Is it true that after Thomas Boleyn died and Hever castle was sold by the King, did he give Mary a portion of money from that?

I don’t understand the English obsession with the Tudor period of English history.. The English political system has changed so much, for the better in my opinion, that it it is difficult to see how any of the Tudor personalities that English historians and novelists are so obsessed with have influenced contemporary Britain.

One day we'll know more about Mary and what she looks like, I won't tell you how bc I don't want to give it away...⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ I am incarnated Mary. Im gonna have lots of past life regressions in this life bc this is my last life. If you want to know more comment below. 💙💙

Photo bombing black cat. Love it.

Could not her child in her second marriage been disabled and thst is the reason we do not hear about him/her

Question. My family last name on my mom side is balind and I was told when they came to canada, it could have been pronounced balint or boleyn. From Hungary, Yugoslavia and Balkan nations. Would the be any relation to the family.?

Claire, would Henry have had an affair while Mary was married to William Carey? Did Henry only have affairs with unmarried women?

It might even be Anne!

I wonder what happened to Mary Boleyn’s children with William Stafford? Is it likely they survived to adulthood?

Do you think that Mary tried to save her sister as shown in the other Boleyn girl. Me myself do not believe it

I really enjoy watching your video's, thank you . Did Mary Boleyn have two children by King Henry 8th ?

Here kitty!

Your videos are great! But in the miniature you can see a litle part of her hair which is blonde!

Kind of off topic but regarding Ann B’s appearance, I was looking at the sketch done by Holbein supposedly of Ann. Holbein was almost photographic in his detail and realism although I believe the subject of the sketch is disputed because subject doesn’t match period descriptions of Ann. The woman looks slightly puffy, has lighter hair and she is wearing something too casual to befit a queen. I was wondering if Ann could have been pregnant at the time of the sketch? Which could explain the swollen face and state of dress?

Henry Norris had sons?

Claire hasn't "that painting 🎨" now been established as Mary?

I always thought 💭 Mary raised her kids I guess I’m wrong who did ?

I see auburn (reddish brown) hair under her "hat"...

I ready Alison Eyres 📚 Six wives Henry the Eighth

William Cary is my ancestral uncle. Not the son of the king. He is a Cary through and through.