[I think we've touched on this subject a little on the Q&A Blog, but I figured it was a question worth repeating]
Did Mary Boyeln have two children by Henry the V111? Were those children given places in court life?
I have read that Henry did recognize some of his children by the mistresses..but not all. Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Anne Knauer not a student..a 55 yr. old with a strong curiosity about the Tudors.
16 comments:
HenryVIII's only acknowledged bastard was Henry Fitzroy, his son by Elizabeth Blount.
Most accounts I've read attribute Mary Boleyn's children to William Carey. Considering how anxious Henry VIII was to show that his lack of sons with Katherine of Aragon was her fault, I'd think he would have readily acknowledged other children. His affair with Mary Boleyn with public knowledge, so there wouldn't have been much additional embarassment involved.
Apparently Henry Carey looked a lot like Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I was very kind to him and his sister Catherine but that could equally be attributed to their Boleyn relationship with her.
Also, I think it is significant that Mary Boleyn was married. Bessie Blount wasn't married, so it was certain that Henry Fitzroy was Henry's.
Mary, however, could've have time with both her husband and the king, which meant that there was more doubt as to her children's paternity. Henry would never recognize a child that he wasn't sure was his, because he could be raising up an unworthy child.
Henry Carey was born in 1525
Catherine Carey was born in 1528
Mary's relationship with the King ended circa 1523-perhaps before that-so if there is anyyyy possibility Henry was, in fact, Henry's(ha!), it is very slim. As you can see, Catherine Carey was born After Henry had begun the affair with Anne--I'm sure she would not have tolerated a man courting her having a baby on her sister-especially when she was skeptical of being with him anyway...
One website lists the birthdates of William Carey and Mary Boleyn's children as indicated in the previous post:
Henry in 1525, and Catherine in 1528. Two other websites list Henry's birthdate as March 4, 1526 (about 9 months after Mary's affair with Henry VIII ended). This has been attributed to Henry's infertility and to the fact that his favor had shifted from Mary to Anne and the Boleyn family backed Anne's horse so to speak. Those same two websites list two differing birthdates for Catherine Carey's: 1524 and 1529. Some sources indicate that the affair between Henry VIII was as short as two years and as long as six and possibly longer. The answer is no one really knows, but there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to support many different opinions.
It is said that Mary Carey started being King Henry's mistress around 1522. It also said that Catherine Carey was born 1524 and that Henry Carey was born 1526. Anne Boleyn's relationship with the King started around 1526, when Mary was pregnant with Henry.
I'd say that Mary Boleyn's children were in fact the children of Henry VIII. It's long been thought Henry did not legitmise the children because of his desperation to marry Anne. Even the affair with Mary complicated the matter. Children would have complicated things even more.
Also, he was notoriously vain. Recognising the children when he already had a son would not be necessary when he expected to have more and could have damaged his precious reputation.
I think that Mary's children were Henry's. If they weren't then why would there be evidence that Mary had children during the affair. And also why would Henry Carey look so much like the king. I don't think Mary would have any time for her husband since she was at the king's beck and call 24\7. I say she should have been queen since she gave birth to an legitiment heir. Her children should have been reconized as legitiment children to King Henry.
I think that Mary's children were Henry's. If they were not then why would Henry Carey look like the king. Also I think Mary didn't have time for her husband since she was at King Henry's beck and call day and night. The king wanted Anne so badly he thought that if Anne knew Mary had and was with his children she wouldn't take him. It might even be so he didn't have to face any embarrassment. But I think Mary should have been queen and her children acknowleged as the king's. Henry should also been announced as the legitiment heir to the throne of England.
I have seen sources where Mary had two kids from Henry VIII. Both had William Carey's name becasue she wasn't really married to Henry. She had a daughter, Catherine, and a son, Henry by him. Henry Carey was Privy Councillor & Lord Chamberlain under Elizabeth. Catherine married Francis Knollys.
I have read extensively on this subject and believe that both Catherine and Henry Carey were Henry VIII's children. Mary was married to William Carey and as such they had to take his name, Bessie Blount was unmarried therefore Henry Fitzroy was acknowledged. Another major contributing factor to Henry not publicly acknowledging Mary's children as his own was his utter desperation to marry Anne Boleyn and the marriage would certainly never have been sanctioned had Mary's children been acknowledged as the King's. It is interesting though that in the event of William Carey's death Henry made Anne Boleyn ward over Mary's son Henry but not Catherine.
Well, I've read one or two books on this matter and I've seen the movie about the Boleyn girls. I realize that the books had fictional parts in them, but it said that Mary's affair with HenryVIII lasted for a long time and that they had two children together, named Catherine, she was first, and Henry, who was second. They took the name Carey because Mary was, well, married. But she did not live with William Carey during that time because she was the King's mistriss. I also believe they were very much acknowledged. So was Bessie Blount's child, Henry Fitzroy.But after the king married Anne, Mary went back to William Carey. It also said that the sickness "the sweats" came to England after Mary and William got back together and William got sick and died. After that, Mary meet someone named William Stafford, feel in love, got married, moved away from the Court to the country(while Anne was still Queen), and had a had another baby girl, which they named Anne(she had the last name of Stafford). I could be so wrong on this, but this is my opinion and this is what I know!
I also believe that Henry was the Father of mary's children but the circumstances didn't help matters when he married her sister which he had her executed how sad for her and for mary as well I think she loved him but he was so vain and destructive it couldve been different if it was handled differently Maritzal
I am not an expert but it has puzzled me a lot whether they could be King Henrys some people say he liked to keep his relationships with his mistresses short and that Henry would choose a husband for his mistresses possibly when he was tired of them Mary Boleyn married William Carey in 1520 who was actually a cousin of Henrys had a similar face to Henrys that's why I guess we will never know for sure they could both be Williams that is possible or one of them but for sure there was a reliable source a Cavendish who said Henry was looking lustily at Anne Boleyn in 1523 and this person was quite close to King Henry and should know
A lot of people think that because he gave presents to William Carey that's proof that the children were Henrys not so, William was Henrys cousin and he was fond of him William was sporty like Henry and his friend
no one knows how long the affair lasted and he was known for having a few mistreses at a time my bet it was short it is possible that it ended before 1523
I'm thinking the only way to be sure is dna test King Henrys bones but I doubt the Queen would let anyone do that and find a male descendant and compare the two maybe Prince William
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