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Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire

 

 
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Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire
 
 
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Lady Elizabeth Howard, later Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormonde (c. 1480 – 3 April 1538) was the eldest of the two daughters Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk was an England soldier and statesman, and son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine de Moleyns, the daughter of William de Moleyns and Margery Whalesborough....
 had by his first wife Elizabeth Tilney
Elizabeth Tilney

Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey was the first wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and the mother of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk....
. She was also a direct descendant of King Edward I
Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as Longshanks, the English Justinian, and the Hammer of the Scots , was a House of Plantagenet King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the same to Scotland....
. She is most famous for having been the mother of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was List of English consorts as the Wives of Henry VIII of Henry VIII of England. She was also Earl of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation....
, who became the second wife of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
. As such, she was also the maternal grandmother of Queen Elizabeth I.

le is known of her but a rough chronology of her life can be pieced together through the comments and mythologies of her contemporaries.

Her family managed to survive the fall of their patron, King Richard III
Richard III of England

Richard III was List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of England of Kingdom of England from 1483 until his death. He was the last king from the House of York, and his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the culmination of the Wars of the Roses and the end of the Plantagenet dynasty....
 who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and supplanted by the victor King Henry VII.






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Lady Elizabeth Howard, later Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormonde (c. 1480 – 3 April 1538) was the eldest of the two daughters Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk was an England soldier and statesman, and son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine de Moleyns, the daughter of William de Moleyns and Margery Whalesborough....
 had by his first wife Elizabeth Tilney
Elizabeth Tilney

Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey was the first wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and the mother of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk....
. She was also a direct descendant of King Edward I
Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as Longshanks, the English Justinian, and the Hammer of the Scots , was a House of Plantagenet King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the same to Scotland....
. She is most famous for having been the mother of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was List of English consorts as the Wives of Henry VIII of Henry VIII of England. She was also Earl of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation....
, who became the second wife of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
. As such, she was also the maternal grandmother of Queen Elizabeth I.

Marriage and children

Little is known of her but a rough chronology of her life can be pieced together through the comments and mythologies of her contemporaries.

Her family managed to survive the fall of their patron, King Richard III
Richard III of England

Richard III was List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of England of Kingdom of England from 1483 until his death. He was the last king from the House of York, and his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the culmination of the Wars of the Roses and the end of the Plantagenet dynasty....
 who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and supplanted by the victor King Henry VII. Elizabeth successfully joined the royal court
Noble court

A royal or noble court, as an instrument of government broader than a court, comprises an extended household centred on a patron whose rule may govern law or be governed by it....
 as a young girl. It was while she was at court, that she wed Thomas Boleyn
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and 1st Earl of Ormond, Order of the Garter was an England diplomat and politician in the Tudor era, and the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England....
, an ambitious young courtier
Courtier

A courtier is a person who attends the noble court of a monarch or other Executive . Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the Official residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together....
, sometime before 1500, probably in 1498. According to Thomas, his wife was pregnant many times in the next few years but only five children are thought to have survived birth and only three into adulthood:

  • Mary Boleyn
    Mary Boleyn

    Mary Boleyn was a member of the English Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. Mary was the sister of Queen consort Anne Boleyn; some historians claim she was the younger sister, but her children believed Mary was the elder sister, as do most historians today....
    , mistress of Henry VIII (c. 1499 – 19 July 1543).
  • Anne Boleyn
    Anne Boleyn

    Anne Boleyn was List of English consorts as the Wives of Henry VIII of Henry VIII of England. She was also Earl of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation....
    , Queen Consort of Henry VIII of England
    Henry VIII of England

    Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
     (c. 1501/1507 – 19 May 1536 )
  • George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
    George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford

    George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the husband of Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford. He was convicted of incest with his sister, Anne, during the period of her trial for treason....
     (c. 1504 – 17 May 1536).
  • Thomas Boleyn—thought to have died young.
  • Henry Boleyn—thought to have died young.


As lady-in-waiting for the royal court

Throughout this time, Elizabeth was a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting

A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a noble court, attending to a Monarch, a princess or other nobility. A lady-in-waiting is often a noblewoman of lower rank than the one she attends to, and is not considered a servant....
 at the royal court
Noble court

A royal or noble court, as an instrument of government broader than a court, comprises an extended household centred on a patron whose rule may govern law or be governed by it....
; first to Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York

Elizabeth of York was the daughter, sister, niece, wife and mother of Kings of England. She was List of English consorts as spouse of King Henry VII of England, whom she married in 1486....
 and then to her successor, Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon also known as Katherine or Katharine; was the List of English consorts as the Wives of Henry VIII of Henry VIII of England, and Princess of Wales by her first marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales....
. To judge from later gossip
Gossip

Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information thus transmitted....
, Elizabeth Boleyn must have been a highly attractive woman. Rumours circulated when Henry was involved with Anne Boleyn that Elizabeth had once been his mistress
Mistress (lover)

A mistress is a man's long-term female sexual partner and companion who is not marriage to him, especially used when the man is married to another woman....
, with the suggestion even being made that Anne Boleyn might be the daughter of Henry VIII. However, despite recent attempts by one or two historians to rehabilitate this myth, it was denied by Henry and never mentioned in the dispensation he sought in order to make his union with Anne lawful. Most historians believe it is likely that this rumour began by confusing Elizabeth with Henry's more famous mistress Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount

Elizabeth Blount , who was better known by her nickname of "Bessie", was a mistress of Henry VIII of England....
, or from the growing unpopularity of the Boleyn family after 1527.

Scandals involving both daughters


In 1519, Elizabeth's daughter was living in the French royal court. According to the papal nuncio in France fifteen years later, the French King had called her "my English mare", and later in his life described her as "a great whore, the most infamous of all".

In the words of historian M.L. Bruce, both Thomas and Elizabeth "developed feelings of dislike" for their daughter, Mary. In later years, Mary's romantic involvements would only further strain this relationship. Around 1520, the Boleyns managed to arrange Mary's marriage to Sir William Carey, a respected and popular man at court. It was sometime after the wedding that Mary became mistress to Henry VIII (the exact dates as to when the affair started and ended are unknown), although she never held the title of "official royal mistress," as the post did not exist in England. It has long been rumoured that one or both Mary Boleyn's children were fathered by Henry and not Carey. Some historians, such as Alison Weir
Alison Weir (historian)

Alison Weir is a United Kingdom writer of history books, mostly in the form of biography about British royalty.She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her husband and two children, John and Kate....
, now question whether Henry Carey
Henry Carey

Henry Carey may refer to:*Henry Charles Carey , American economist*Henry Carey , dramatist and songwriter*Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon , politician, general and potential illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England...
 or Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey

Catherine Carey, later Lady Knollys , was Chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Elizabeth I of England, who was her first cousin. Catherine's mother was Mary Boleyn, the sister of Queen consort Anne Boleyn, and a mistress of Henry VIII....
 were fathered by the King. Few of Henry's mistresses were ever publicly honoured, except Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount

Elizabeth Blount , who was better known by her nickname of "Bessie", was a mistress of Henry VIII of England....
, who was mentioned in Parliament and whose son, Henry Fitzroy was created Duke of Richmond and Somerset in an elaborate public ceremony in 1525. Henry's relationship with Mary was so discreet that within ten years, some observers were wondering if it had ever taken place.

In contrast to Mary, Elizabeth's other daughter, Anne, is thought to have had a close relationship with her mother. Elizabeth had been in charge of Anne's early education and she had taught her music and religion, as well as embroidery, reading and writing. In 1525 Henry VIII fell in love with Anne, and Elizabeth became her protective chaperone. She accompanied Anne to Court as a chaperone, since Anne was attempting to avoid a sexual relationship with the King. It was Elizabeth who travelled with Anne to view York Place after the fall of the Boleyn family's great political opponent, Thomas Cardinal Wolsey
Thomas Cardinal Wolsey

Thomas Cardinal Wolsey , who was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, was an English statesman and a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.When Henry VIII became king of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner....
 — an intrigue which had given Anne her first real taste of political power. She was crowned queen four years later.

Elizabeth remained in her daughter's household throughout her time as queen consort
Queen consort

A queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning Monarch. Queens consort usually share their husbands' Royal and noble ranks and hold the feminine equivalent of their husbands' monarchical titles....
. Tradition has it that Anne's only daughter, Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
 was named after her maternal grandmother. However, it is more likely that she was named after Henry's mother, Elizabeth of York, although we cannot rule out the possibility that she was named after both grandmothers.

Elizabeth Boleyn sided with the rest of the family when her eldest daughter Mary was banished in 1535 for eloping with a commoner, William Stafford. Mary had initially expected her sister's support (Anne had been Mary's only confidante within the Boleyn family since 1529). but Anne was furious at the breach of etiquette and refused to receive her.

Only a year later, the family was overtaken by a greater scandal. Elizabeth's younger daughter, Anne, and her only living son, George, were both executed on charges of treason
Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of loyalty to one's sovereignty or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife ....
, adultery
Adultery

Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse between a marriage and another person who is not his or her spouse, though in many places it is only considered adultery when a married woman has sexual relations with someone who is not her husband and in others it is only considered adultery when a married woman has sexual relations with someon...
 and incest
Incest

Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo vary with culture and jurisdiction....
. Anne's two chief biographers, Eric Ives
Eric Ives

Eric William Ives, Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom historian and an expert on the Tudor period. He is Emeritus Professor of English History at the University of Birmingham....
 and Retha Warnicke
Retha Warnicke

Professor Retha Marvine Warnicke American historian and Professor of History at Arizona State University. Professor Warnicke graduated with a B.A....
, have both concluded that these charges were fabricated. They both agree that the King wanted to marry Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour was List of English consorts as the third Wives of Henry VIII of Henry VIII of England. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution in 1536....
. Beyond this obvious fact, the sequence of events is not completely clear and historians are divided about whether or not the key motivation for Anne's downfall was her husband's hatred of her or her political ambitions. Despite the claims of several recent novels, academic historians generally agree that Anne was innocent and that she was sexually faithful to her husband. Nonetheless, the judges obeyed the King and condemned Anne and George Boleyn and four others to death. Elizabeth's husband Thomas Boleyn and her brother Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk was a prominent Tudor dynasty politician. He was uncle to two of the wives of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, as well as the king's mistress Mary Boleyn, and played a major role in the machinations behind these relationships....
 were no help to the condemned. The accused men were beheaded by the axe on 17 May 1536 and on this day Henry's marriage to Anne was annulled, on the grounds of his previous relationship with her sister. This made Elizabeth's granddaughter, then heir to the throne, a bastard of doubtful paternity. Anne was executed by a French swordsman two days later.

Following the annihilation of the family's ambitions, Elizabeth retired to the countryside. She died only two years after the deaths of Anne and George and her husband died the following year.

Footnotes