Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
Encyclopedia
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, of Hunsdon
Hunsdon
Hunsdon is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.Hunsdon village centre contains many old houses, some known to date back to at least the 15th century...

 (4 March 1526 – 23 July 1596) was an English nobleman.

He was the son of Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...

, the sister of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess 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...

 and also the mistress to King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. Historians differ as to whether he was the biological child of Henry VIII, or of Boleyn's husband, Sir William Carey, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber
Privy chamber
A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....

 and Esquire of the Body to King Henry VIII.

Illegitimate Child of Henry VIII?

Henry's mother, Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...

, was mistress to King Henry VIII, beginning sometime in 1520. The exact dates of when the affair started and when it ended are unknown, although the affair is believed to have ended by the time Henry Carey was born in March 1526.

Contemporary rumours stated that Henry was an illegitimate child of Henry VIII. Some 10 years after the child was born, John Hales, vicar of Isleworth, remarked that he had met a "young Master Carey," whom some monks believed to be the king's bastard. The idea that Carey was Henry VIII's secret son has spawned several Tudor legends, even becoming a central part of modern fiction, such as the recent novel The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical fiction novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn. Reviews were mixed; some said it was a brilliantly claustrophobic look at palace life in Tudor England, while others have consistently...

(based on the life of Mary Boleyn).

Early life

William Carey, Henry's legal father, died suddenly from the sweating sickness
Sweating sickness
Sweating sickness, also known as "English sweating sickness" or "English sweate" , was a mysterious and highly virulent disease that struck England, and later continental Europe, in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently...

 on 23 June 1528 when Henry was only two. Carey and his elder sister Catherine came under the wardship of their maternal aunt Anne Boleyn, who was engaged to Henry VIII at the time. The children still had active contact with their mother, who remained on good terms with her sister, until Mary's secret elopement with a soldier, William Stafford
William Stafford (1500-1565)
Sir William Stafford, of Chebsey, in Staffordshire was an Essex landowner and the second husband of Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, and one-time mistress of King Henry VIII of England.-Biography:...

 (later Lord of Chebsey) in 1535.

Anne Boleyn acted as her nephew's patron and provided him with a top-quality education in a prestigious Cistercian monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

. He was also tutored at some point by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 Nicholas Bourbon
Nicholas Bourbon
Nicholas Bourbon was a French court preceptor and poet. He wrote a collection of poems called Nugae , which are known as the Bagatelles in French...

, whose life had been saved from the French Inquisition after Queen Anne's
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess 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...

 intervention.

Henry's royal aunt was beheaded in May 1536, when he was only ten years old. His mother died seven years later in 1543 on her estate in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 and he was returned to his family.

On 21 May 1545 he married Anne Morgan
Anne Morgan, Baroness Hunsdon
Anne Morgan, Baroness Hunsdon was the wife of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, by whom she had a total of 12 children. On 14 December 1595, she was appointed by Queen Elizabeth I of England to the office of Keeper of Somerset House; a post which she held for life...

, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan, of Arkestone, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

, and Elizabeth Whitney.

Political career

Entering politics at the age of 21, Henry Carey served twice as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

, representing Buckingham
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...

 during 1547–1550, 1554–1555. He was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed in November 1558 and created Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 by his first cousin Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and 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 Tudor dynasty...

 on 13 January 1559. His sister, Catherine, was one of Elizabeth's favourite ladies-in-waiting and the Queen was very generous to her Boleyn relatives.

His Baronial estate consisted of the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

s of Hunsdon and Eastwick, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 and possessions in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. Hunsdon had previously belonged to Elizabeth's predecessor Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

. He was also granted an annual pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...

 of £400. On 31 October 1560, Henry was appointed Master of the Queen's Hawk
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...

s. On 20 April 1561, Henry also became a Knight of the Garter.

Henry seems to have gained some favour with his cousin as she appointed him Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners in 1564, a position making him effectively her personal bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...

. He seems to have served for four years. He accompanied the queen to Cambridge University in 1564, for which he was awarded a MA
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...

. On 25 August 1568, Henry was appointed Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....

, Northumberland and Lord Warden of the Eastern March.

The year 1569 was the beginning of the Rising of the North
Rising of the North
The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.-Background:When Elizabeth I succeeded her...

 (November 1569 - February 1570), a major uprising was instigated by Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...

, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland
Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland
Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland was an English nobleman and one of the leaders of the Rising of the North in 1569....

 and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland
Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland
Blessed Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, 1st Baron Percy, KG , led the Rising of the North and was executed for treason. He was later beatified by the Catholic Church.-Early life:...

. The rebellion was expecting the support of Roman Catholic Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...

.

Henry was appointed Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 of the forces loyal to the Queen. His February victory over Sir Leonard Dacre
Leonard Dacre
Leonard Dacre was an English nobleman, one of the promoters of the Northern Rebellion against Queen Elizabeth.-Life:He was the second son of William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gilsland and brother of Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre....

 was instrumental in crushing the rebellion. Nearly three thousand rebels ambushed Henry Carey's party of half that size, but Carey was nonetheless victorious in fending off the assault. A number of the rebels crossed the borders to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 but were there targeted by the forces of the Scottish Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

. Henry could still appreciate the courage of Dacre's soldiers. In his letter to the Queen detailing the victory, he made mention of the rebel charge "the bravest charge that ever I saw!". He was rewarded with a personal note of thanks from Queen Elizabeth I that read in part, "I doubt much, my Harry, whether that the victory were given me, more joyed me, or that you were by God appointed the instrument of my glory; and I assure you that for my country's good, the first must suffice, but for my heart's contention the second pleased me...you have done much for honour...Your loving kinswoman, Elizabeth R."

The victorious Henry was appointed Warden of the East Marches and represented the Queen in signing a treaty with the Regent on 23 October 1571. On 31 July 1574 Henry became Keeper of Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...

, the property of the Queen before ascending the throne. He was then named Privy Counsellor in 1577.

16 January 1581 found Henry appointed Captain-General of the forces responsible for the safety of English borders. He was appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household in July, 1585 and would hold this position until his death.

This did not prevent Elizabeth from appointing him Lord Chamberlain Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, Principal Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

 and Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of the army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

 "for the defence and surety of our own Royal Person". The appointment occurred on 20 July 1588 in Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...

.

Henry was a blunt, plain-spoken man with little tact, which often worked to his disadvantage at Court. However, his character and reputation as a successful military leader gained him the respect — and often the affection — of the soldiers who served under him.

Henry also served as Chief Justice in Eyre
Justice in Eyre
In English law, the Justices in Eyre were the highest magistrates in forest law, and presided over the court of justice-seat, a triennial court held to punish offenders against the forest law and enquire into the state of the forest and its officers...

, south of the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

 between 1589 and his death. He was Joined Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

 of the Office Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...

 and High Steward of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

 and Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

. He served as Chief Justice of the Royal Forces between 20 December 1591 and his death. On 2 March 1592 Henry was appointed High Steward of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 for life.

Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, as Lord Chamberlain became the first patron of The Lord Chamberlain's Men, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's company, in 1594.

Henry Carey died at Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...

, Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...

 on 23 July and was buried on 12 August 1596 at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

. On his deathbed his cousin Elizabeth I offered to create him Earl of Wiltshire; however, he refused, saying:
Two of his sons, George, and John, successively followed him as Baron Hunsdon
Baron Hunsdon
Baron Hunsdon is a title that has been created twice. It was first created in 1559 in the Peerage of England for the soldier and courtier Henry Carey. His grandson, the fourth Baron, was created Viscount Rochford in 1621 and Earl of Dover, in the County of Kent, in 1628. These titles were also in...

.

Children

Henry Carey and Ann Morgan's marriage resulted in the birth of twelve children.
  • Sir George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon
    George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon
    George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon KG was the eldest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan. His father was first cousin to Elizabeth I of England....

     (1547 - 8 September 1603). He was married on 29 December 1574 to Elizabeth Spencer, daughter of Sir John Spencer, Member of Parliament
    Member of Parliament
    A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

     representing Northamptonshire
    Northamptonshire
    Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

    , and Katherine Kitson.
  • Sir John Carey, 3rd Baron Hunsdon
    John Carey, 3rd Baron Hunsdon
    John Carey, 3rd Baron Hunsdon was an English peer, politician and Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed.He was born the son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and was the younger brother of George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon and the grandson of Mary Boleyn. It is alleged that his father was the illegitimate...

     ( - April 1617). He was married on 20 December 1576 to Mary Hyde, daughter of Leonard Hyde of Throcking, Herefordshire
    Herefordshire
    Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

    . They were parents of Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover
    Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover
    Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover was an English peer.Carey was the son of John Carey, 3rd Baron Hunsdon. Cambridge University awarded him an honorary MA in 1607. He was knighted, as a Knight of the Bath , on 3 June 1610....

    .
  • Henry Carey.
  • Thomas Carey. Died in infancy.
  • Thomas Carey. Presumably named after deceased brother. Also died in childhood.
  • William Carey.
  • Sir Edmund Carey
    Edmund Carey
    Sir Edmund Carey was the son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Ann Morgan. He was the grandson of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Queen Anne Boleyn....

     (c. 1558 - 1637). He was married three times. First to Mary Crocker, second to Elizabeth Neville
    Elizabeth Danvers
    Elizabeth Danvers née Neville, later Elizabeth Carey by remarriage was a learnéd English noblewoman...

     and third to Judith Humphrey. He was father to a younger Sir Robert Carey but it is not certain which wife gave birth to him.
  • Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
    Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
    Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth was an English nobleman and courtier. He was the youngest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan and Anne Whitney.As a young man he accompanied several diplomatic missions abroad and took part in military expeditions...

     (1560 - 12 April 1639). He was married on 20 August 1593 to Elizabeth Trevannion, daughter of Sir Hugh Trevannion and Sybilla Morgan. They were parents to Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth
    Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth
    Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth was an English nobleman and translator born in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth and Elizabeth Trevannion. On 6 November 1652 Henry married Martha Cranfield daughter of Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex and Elizabeth Shepard...

    .
  • Unknown son
  • Katherine Carey (c. 1550 - 25 February 1603). She was wife to Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
    Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
    Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham , known as Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I...

    .
  • Philadelphia Carey. She was married to Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Scrope and was mother to Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland
    Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland
    Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North.-Family:...

    .
  • Margaret Carey. She was married to Sir Edward Hoby
    Edward Hoby
    Sir Edward Hoby was a diplomat, Member of Parliament, scholar, and soldier in England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I...

    , son of Thomas Hoby
    Thomas Hoby
    Sir Thomas Hoby was an English diplomat and translator. He was born in 1530, the second son of William Hoby of Leominster, Herefordshire, by his second wife, Katherine, daughter of John Forden. He matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1546...

     and Elizabeth Cooke.


In addition, Henry had several illegitimate children, including Valentine Carey, who eventually served in the military under his father and achieved fairly high rank.

External links

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