Scandals involving both daughters
In
1519, Elizabeth's elder daughter, Mary, who was then living in the French royal court, was brought home in disgrace once her reputation was left in tatters due to a series of sexual escapades in France. The French King vindictively called Mary
"my English mare", and later in his life described her as
"a great whore, the most infamous of all".
Elizabeth never forgave Mary for this slur on the family's reputation, and in the words of historian M.L. Bruce both Thomas and Elizabeth "developed feelings of dislike" for their daughter. 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 nobleman 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 rumored that one or both Mary Boleyn's children were fathered by Henry and not Carey. Some historians, such as
Alison Weir, now question whether Henry Carey (Mary's son) was actually fathered by the King . Few of Henry's mistresses were ever publicly honoured, excepting
Elizabeth Blount, who was mentioned in Parliament and whose son was created duke of Richmond 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, 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, 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 - 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. Tradition has it that Anne's only daughter,
Elizabeth I 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. 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 youngest daughter Anne and her only living son, George, were both
executed on charges of
treason, adultery and
incest. Anne's two chief biographers,
Eric Ives and
Retha Warnicke, have both concluded that these charges were fabricated. They both agree that the king wanted to marry his mistress, Jane Seymour. Beyond this obvious fact, the sequence of events are 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 the two Boleyns, and four others, to death. The men were beheaded by the axe on May 17
1536 and Anne by a French swordsman two days later.
Following the annihilation of the family's ambitions, Elizabeth retired to the countryside. The fall of the Boleyns' has been likened to "a
Greek tragedy", and yet there is something tragically pathetic and anticlimactic about Elizabeth Boleyn's quiet, uneventful death only two years after she had witnessed the cruel machinations of the Tudor court which had devoured two of her brilliant and glamorous younger children. She did not attempt a reconciliation with her surviving daughter, Mary, who outlived her by only five years.
