William Carey (1490-1528)
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Sir William Carey (1495 - 1528) was Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and Esquire to the Body of King Henry VIII of England.
He was the second son of Thomas Carey (1479-1536) of Chilton Foliat in Wiltshire and his wife, Margaret Spencer. He was courtier and favourite of King Henry VIII of England. Carey was a noted art collector and he introduced the famed Dutch artist, Lucas van Horenbolte, to the Kingdom of England in the mid-1520s.
He was married to Lady Mary Boleyn in 1520. Shortly after their marriage, Mary became the mistress of King Henry. The exact dates of how long the affair lasted is unknown. However, it was said the couple's first child Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon was the king's illegitimate child. The evidence for Henry Carey's birth date and paternity one way or the other is inconclusive. Their son became a prominent courtier during the reign of his cousin and possible half sister, Elizabeth I.
Anne Boleyn, Mary's younger sister, caught Henry's eye a year after his affair with Mary ended. Henry proposed marriage to her in 1527. William Carey did not live to enjoy his sister-in-law's prosperity, since he died of the sweating sickness in 1528. He died greatly in debt, and his wife was reduced to pawning her jewelery before Anne Boleyn arranged a small pension for her. At the time of William's death, Mary Boleyn was pregnant with their daughter - Catherine Carey.
[edit] Sources
- "The royal descent of Nelson and Wellington, from Edward the first, George Russell French, 1853, Page 28"
- "The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII, Retha Marvine Warnicke, 1984, Page 36"
- "The Baronetage of England: containing a genealogical and historical account of all the English, Edward Kimber, 1771, Page 221"
