Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

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The Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and 1st Earl of Ormonde, KG[1] (c. 1477-12 March 1539) was an English diplomat and politician in the Tudor era, and the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. As such, he was the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I. He was born and buried at the family home, Hever Castle. His parents were William Boleyn (1451 - October 10, 1505) and Margaret Butler (1444 - 1539).

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[edit] Family

Boleyn married Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. They had five children that we are aware of, only three of whom survived:

[edit] Career

Through the connections of his extended family, he became one of King Henry VIII's leading diplomats. Known missions were:

In between, he sacrificed the members of his family to win favour from King Henry VIII: He garnered honours by letting the King dally with his elder daughter Mary, then marry his younger daughter Anne. Boleyn's ambition was so considerable that rumor had it that he had even allowed his own wife to have an affair with the King, but these rumours have been disproved by modern historians.

Boleyn was invested as a Knight of the Garter (KG) in 1523[2] and was created Viscount Rochford in the Peerage of England in 1525, and Earl of Ormonde in the Peerage of Ireland in 1527, the former title referring to his estate at Rochford in Essex and the latter being chosen due to his descent from the 7th Earl of Ormonde, who had died in 1515. He was finally created Earl of Wiltshire in the Peerage of England on 8 December 1529, probably due to his daughter Anne's relationship with the King. His only surviving son, George, Viscount Rochford, predeceased him, and consequently all these titles became extinct upon his death (although the use of the Viscountcy continued until the execution in 1542 of his son's widow, Jane, Viscountess Rochford, after she was implicated in the fall of Catherine Howard, the King's fifth wife).

Lord Wiltshire was appointed Lord Privy Seal in 1530. In 1532, his daughter Anne was also raised to the Peerage, being created Marquess of Pembroke in her own right, and in 1533 she married the King, becoming Queen Consort of England. Wiltshire acquiesced in her judicial murder and that of her brother Lord Rochford when the King discarded her in favor of Jane Seymour. At this point he was replaced as Lord Privy Seal and was then in disgrace until his death a couple of years later.

[edit] In popular culture

Lord Wiltshire was portrayed by Sir Michael Hordern in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), by Benjamin Whitrow in Henry VIII, and by Jack Shepherd and Mark Rylance in the 2003 and 2008 film versions of The Other Boleyn Girl, respectively. The 2007 Showtime series The Tudors has Nick Dunning in the role depicting him as impetuous and devious, constantly working to curry favor for his family.

[edit] Styles and honours

  • Mr Thomas Boleyn (1477-1523)
  • Sir Thomas Boleyn KG (1523-1525)
  • The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Rochford KG (1525-1527)
  • The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Ormond KG (1527-1529)
  • The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Wiltshire and of Ormond KG (1529-1539)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Richardson, Douglas (2004). Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Genealogical Publishing Com, p. 180. ISBN 0806317507. 
  2. ^ List of the Knights of the Garter (1348-present)

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Cuthbert Tunstall
(Bishop of London)		 Lord Privy Seal
1530–1536		 Succeeded by
Sir Thomas Cromwell
Peerage of England
Preceded by
New Creation		 Earl of Wiltshire
1529–1539		 Succeeded by
Extinct
Preceded by
New Creation		 Viscount Rochford
1525-1539
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
New Creation		 Earl of Ormonde
1527–1539		 Succeeded by
Extinct