The Birth of Henry Carey - 04 March 1526

'Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon' Artist: Steven van der Meulen, c.1561-63 © Private Collection/On loan to The Globe Theatre

Henry Carey, later 1st Baron of Hunsdon, son of Mary Boleyn and her first husband William Carey, was born on this day, 04 March, in 1526. On 04 February 1520, Mary, the eldest daughter of Thomas Boleyn, a rising courtier and diplomat within the court of Henry VIII, married William Carey, kinsman and intimate companion of the king. The marriage between the young couple, both of similar ages, took place at the Chapel Royal of Greenwich Palace, with Henry bestowing his favour on the new couple by attending their wedding (Tallis, 2017).

Shortly following her marriage, Mary was appointed to the household of Queen Catherine of Aragon, accompanying her in June 1520 to Calais, France, for the 'Field of the Cloth of Gold' peace conference, cementing the young couple's rise within the royal households (Norton, 2013). However, by Spring 1522, Mary had become the mistress of Henry VIII; his long-term relationship with Elizabeth 'Bessie' Blount had ended, possibly prompted by the pregnancy and birth of her second child, a daughter Elizabeth, in c.1520, and her subsequent marriage to Gilbert Tailboys, a young servant in the household of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Weir, 1999; Norton, 2013).

"Mary Boleyn'. Unknown Artist, 17thc. ©Hever Castle

The exact duration of Mary's affair with the King is unknown, as with many of his extra-marital affairs. Whilst there is no evidence of a relationship prior to and immediately following her marriage, by March 1522, when Mary participated in the infamous Shrove Tuesday 'Château Vert' pageant, her affair with the king had began. Mary's relatives subsequently benefitted significantly during the couple's relationship, with promotions, grants and lands being bestowed on her father, brother George, and her husband (Weir, 1999; Tallis, 2017). Henry VIII only acknowledged one illegitimate child: Henry FitzRoy, born in June 1519, the son of Elizabeth Blount. However, it has been suspected that the king fathered many other children in the first two decades of his reign, including Elizabeth Tailboys (Norton, 2013).

Detail from 'Katherine Carey, Lady Knollys' Unknown Artist, .1562 ©Yale Center for British Art

Henry was born in 1526, two years after the birth of his older sister, Catherine, later Lady Knollys, who was born in the Spring (likely March or April) of 1524. As Catherine was conceived in the second half of 1523, when it was known that her mother's relationship with Henry VIII was at its height, questions have been raised regarding her paternity. However, Catherine was never acknowledged by Henry as being his child, possibly due to her gender, and the baby, named after Queen Catherine of Aragon, was given her father's name and accepted as his child (Norton, 2013; Tallis, 2017). In contrast to his older sister, the paternity of Henry did not appear to be questioned, with him being accepted as the legitimate and legal heir of William Carey. Weir (1999) identifies that there is no evidence that Mary and William abstained from sexual relations during her affair with the king, and that the gaps between their marriage and birth of the Carey children could be attributed to possible miscarriages and stillbirths, as her mother and sister would also experience. By the time of her son's birth in 1526, Mary's affair with Henry VIII had ended, with the king now pursuing her younger sister Anne, whom he would eventually marry in 1530, after a long and ardous legal battle and subsequent break from the Catholic Church in Rome. During the annulment proceedings, Henry VIII admitted to sexual relations with Mary, as requests were made for papal dispensation for his marriage to Anne (Weir, 1999; Tallis, 2017).

'Portrait of William Carey'. Unknown Artist, c.1580 ©Christie's

In June 1528, an outbreak of 'sweating sickness' spread through London and the Royal Court: a virulent and highly contagious illness, which could cause the death of the infected hosts within a matter of hours. Henry VIII was petrified of contracting the disease, and fled the court based at Greenwich Palace, later isolating himself at Hunsdon House. Thomas, George and Anne Boleyn all contracted the illness, but fortunately recovered. William Carey was not so lucky; on 22 June he showed symptoms of the illness, and as many did, died within a few hours later that day. It is unknown where William Carey died, as he did not appear to be one of the courtiers accompanying his king to Hunsdon; his final burial place is also unknown, with the possibility of him being buried in a pit, with other victims of the sickness, given the urgency to bury the dead (Weir, 2011). Following William's death, the lands and property he had been granted by the king was inherited by his son Henry, whom he had identified as his lawful heir, leaving his mother destitute and homeless. Within a month of William's death, the wardship of two year-old Henry was granted by the king to his aunt, Anne Boleyn; Anne subsequently took on the responsibility of her nephew's upbringing and education (Weir, 1999; Norton, 2013). Additional provisions were subsequently made by the King for the upbringing of young Catherine Carey, which Weir (2011) believes is further evidence of her paternity; whilst her exact location during her childhood is unknown, it is possible that she joined the household of her young cousin, Princess Elizabeth, including at Hatfield House, before coming to court in November 1539, as a Maid of Honour to the new queen, Anne of Cleves (Tallis, 2017).

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Bibliography: Norton, E. (2013). The Boleyn Women: The Tudor femmes fatales who changed English history. Stroud: Amberley. Tallis, N. (2017). Elizabeth's Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys Countess of Leicester. London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited. Weir, A. (2011). Mary Boleyn: 'The Great and Infamous Whore'. London: Jonathan Cope.