Posted By Claire on April 26, 2018
On this day in history, 26th April 1540, Catherine Carey, daughter of Mary Boleyn and niece of the late Queen Anne Boleyn, married Francis Knollys.
Thank you to Adrienne Dillard, author of two books on Catherine Carey – the novel Cor Rotto and the non-fiction book Catherine Carey in a Nutshell – as well as a wonderful novel on Jane Boleyn, The Raven’s Widow, for sharing this extract from her non-fiction book.
In Tudor England, more often than not, marriage in the nobility and upper classes was the result of very careful dynastic planning on the part of two families looking to consolidate their interests. It also seems to have been very rare for a courtship to have organically grown between two people out of their own volition. Two people could form affectionate bonds before marriage, but those bonds usually came about because they were already promised to each other or there was an expectation that they would be. It wasn’t impossible for two people to fall in love and get married, but it was definitely the exception and not the rule. Sometimes there wasn’t even time for a courtship. Marriages could be arranged and consummated in a matter of weeks. Fortunately, there was always a chance that the two strangers who found themselves at the altar would grow to deeply love and respect each other as if they were soulmates. It is unknown whether the marriage between Francis Knollys and Catherine Carey was the result of a love match or a very lucky arrangement, and the primary documents don’t reveal many clues.
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Category: Books, The Boleyns
Tags: Adrienne Dillard, Catherine Carey, Francis Knollys
Posted By Claire on April 26, 2018
According to Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, it was on or around this date (six days before Anne’s arrest) that he met with Queen Anne Boleyn. He was serving as one of her chaplains at the time.
According to Parker, she spoke words to him that day that made him feel so bound to Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth, who was just two years old at this time, that he agreed to take the office of Archbishop of Canterbury in her reign even though he didn’t want it.
Had Parker promised Anne that he would look out for her daughter, that he would support her? We don’t know. But their conversation that day stayed with him for the rest of his life.
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Category: Anne Boleyn Fall, Events of 1536
Tags: Anne Boleyn meets Matthew Parker, Matthew Parker, Matthew Parker's promise to Anne Boleyn
I come with good tidings! Just to let you know that Sonja is kindly offering 15% off her Anne Boleyn B necklaces (both standard and freshwater pearls) from now until the end of 20 May 2018. The standard version has 8mm glass faux pearls and the freshwater pearl version has real 8mm freshwater pearls (either […]
OnOn 24th April 1536, Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor, had set up two commissions of oyer and terminer, commissions that would be used to try four of the men accused of sleeping with Queen Anne Boleyn and conspiring to kill the king with her. Yet, on 25th April 1536, King Henry VIII wrote letters to his […]
On this day in history, 24th April 1536, Sir Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, set up two commissions of oyer and terminer, one for the county of Middlesex and the other for Kent. These commissions were used to investigate and prosecute serious crimes, including treason. On 10th May 1536, the Grand Jury of […]
Today, 23rd April, is St George’s Day. It commemorates the execution of St George, A Roman soldier who was imprisoned, tortured and finally beheaded for his Christian faith, on this day in 303 A.D. St George is, of course, famous for the St George and the Dragon legend, a chivalric tale brought back to England […]
On this day in history, King Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the Boleyns scored a bit of a victory over Eustace Chapuys, the man who represented Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, at the English court. They manoeuvred the ambassador into a position where he was forced to pay reverence to Queen Anne Boleyn, thereby acknowledging […]
Thank you to author Judith Arnopp for joining us today on the Anne Boleyn Files with this wonderful guest post. Judith is one of the authors of the new collaborative book Sexuality and its Impact on History which is published by Pen & Sword. Over to Judith… I’ve been interested in history all my life, […]
On this day in history, 26th April 1540, Catherine Carey, daughter of Mary Boleyn and niece of the late Queen Anne Boleyn, married Francis Knollys.
