Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire by Hans Holbein the Younger

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire , KG (* 1477 - 13 March 1539 in Hever Castle , Kent , England) was the father of Anne Boleyn , the second wife of the English King Henry VIII.

Life

He was the eldest son of Sir William Boleyn and his wife Lady Margaret Butler. At the age of 20 he fought for Henry VII against the Cornish rebels who protested against high taxes. The mother was the daughter of Thomas Butler, the seventh Earl of Ormonde.

Thomas' marriage to Elizabeth Howard , daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk , was a perfect choice for him. The Howards had fallen out of favor since they were sold to Richard III. fought at the Battle of Bosworth . Otherwise he would not have been considered worthy of her position.

Thomas was at the coronation in 1509 Henry VIII. For Knights defeated. He was an excellent fighter and took part in a jousting game to celebrate the birth of Prince Henry in 1511. In 1512 he was appointed Constable of Norwich Castle and Sheriff of Kent . He had a great talent for languages, which was very useful in diplomacy.

Thomas Boleyn was ambitious, intelligent, and inquisitive. He worked hard and was industrious, which soon earned him a job as a diplomat. His first task was to talk to Margaret of Austria , regent of the Netherlands, about the planned invasion of France. During this visit, that daughter Anne Boleyn was arranged some time in Brussels was to spend as maid of honor of Margaret. From 1519 to 1520 Thomas Boleyn was the English ambassador in France, where he also took his daughter Anne with him. He accompanied Henry VIII to a meeting with Charles V in Gravelines .

Boleyn's older daughter, Mary Boleyn , was married to Sir William Carey, a man with good court contacts. Marrying her sister Anne was more difficult. Negotiations for her marriage to James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormonde were unsuccessful, and her romances got her into trouble.

Coat of arms of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (taken from the maternal Butler family, Earls of Ormonde)

Of course, Anne's affair with Henry VIII benefited her father. First he was accepted into the House of Lords with the appointment of Viscount Rochford , and in 1529 he was raised to Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormonde . He was sent on numerous missions to calm the relationship between Henry VIII, Charles V, Francis I and Pope Clement VII . Together with the Duke of Norfolk, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Anne Boleyn, he was one of Henry VIII's chief advisers.

Thomas Boleyn made no attempt to help his daughter Anne and son George when they fell from grace. On the contrary, he ensured that the suspects were charged with all alleged crimes. He even accused William Brereton, Sir Henry Norris , Mark Smeaton and Sir Francis Weston of adultery with Anne. You have been found guilty. Even if he had not been involved in the condemnation of his children, he could not have prevented their condemnation.

After Anne's beheading, Thomas Boleyn lost his office as Lord Privy Seal and had to retire to Hever. He died in 1539, a year after his wife's death. He was buried in Hever Church.

Literature and web links

predecessor Office successor
New title created Viscount Rochford
1525-1533
George Boleyn
George Boleyn Viscount Rochford
1536-1539
Title expired
New title created Earl of Wiltshire
1529-1539
Title expired
New title created Earl of Ormonde
1529-1539
Title expired