Kate and William Windsor both Descend from Anne Boleyn's sister Mary
Evidence that King Henry VIII fathered Catherine Carey
Despite doubts cast upon Gregory's academic credentials, she's standing on solid ground.
"That King Henry VIII had an affair with Mary (Boleyn) Carey is indisputable fact," says genealogist Anthony Hoskins in his 2007 article Mary Boleyn's Carey Children -- Offspring of King Henry VIII? "Circumstantial evidence indicates a high probability that Henry VIII fathered two children by Mary Boleyn, meaning that he has many descendants in both England and America."
The summary of the argument for King Henry VIII as secret father of Middleton family ancestor Catherine Carey goes like this:
In 1535, John Haile, vicar of Isleworth, said he had been introduced by a friend to "young Master Carey, saying that he was our sovereign Lord the King's son by our Sovereign Lady the Queen's sister, whom the Queen's grace might not suffer to be in the Court."
Here then we have a contemporary source, a Catholic vicar, loudly blabbing around court that Henry Carey is King Henry VIII's son by "the Queen's sister" Mary Boleyn.
This implies that Catherine Carey was also King Henry VIII's daughter by Mary Boleyn.
Two weeks later, after openly criticizing the affair between the King and Mary Boleyn, Haile was executed -- he seems to have struck a nerve.
Haile was beatified as a holy martyr by Pope Leo XIII in 1889.
Conclusion: we literally have the testimony of a saint that the Carey children were offspring of King Henry VIII. In fact, Haile gave his life for telling the tale.
Descent from Mary Boleyn to Kate Middleton
Above: Anne Boleyn in the Tower, by Edouard Cibot (1835).
The second wife of King Henry VIII, Queen Anne was beheaded on 19 May 1536.
on May 19, 2011
Only 20 days after 103.4 million people viewed the Royal Wedding between Prince William Windsor and commoner Kate Middleton (London, Friday 29 April 2011), the United Kingdom marked the 475th Anniversary of Queen Anne Boleyn's Execution at the Tower of London.
Above: Anne Boleyn, ca. 1535
If the headless ghost of Anne Boleyn (1501 - 1536), one of the six wives of King Henry VIII, seems to be haunting Kate and William Windsor these days, that's probably because they are both descendants of Anne's sister, Mary Boleyn.
In fact, they are both descendants of Mary Boleyn's daughter Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys (1523 - 1586), who attended Queen Anne Boleyn as a 12-year-old serving girl, and who personally witnessed Queen Anne's beheading at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536.
In fact, they are both descendants of Mary Boleyn's daughter Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys (1523 - 1586), who attended Queen Anne Boleyn as a 12-year-old serving girl, and who personally witnessed Queen Anne's beheading at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536.
Catherine Carey got the job as Anne's serving girl in 1535 at age 12 because she was the Queen's niece -- the daughter of Sir William Carey (1500 - 1528) and Mary Boleyn (1500 - 1543).
Although Katie Carey was named after her father, William Carey, many Tudors and courtesans at the Tudor court regarded Catherine Carey as the illicit offspring of King Henry VIII. It was well-known amongst palace insiders that the king had engaged in a passionate, four-year love affair with Mary Boleyn prior to his decision to marry Anne.
Above: Mary (Boleyn) Carey, Anne's sister.
Although Katie Carey was named after her father, William Carey, many Tudors and courtesans at the Tudor court regarded Catherine Carey as the illicit offspring of King Henry VIII. It was well-known amongst palace insiders that the king had engaged in a passionate, four-year love affair with Mary Boleyn prior to his decision to marry Anne.
Above: King Henry VIII in his early thirties
In other words, both Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton, the new Duchess of Cambridge, descend from a little girl with a very big secret: She was the king's love child.
Above: The middle-class Middleton family's illustrious Tudor ancestor Catherine Carey (1524 - 1569). Catherine was the second child and only daughter of Mary Boleyn (1500 - 1543). Many believe that Catherine Carey was actually an illegitimate daughter of King Henry VIII, who had a four-year love affair with Mary Boleyn before he married Anne Boleyn in 1525. That would make Catherine Middleton's ancestor Catherine Carey a first cousin, childhood playmate and secret half-sister to Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603). Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Because Queen Anne was executed when Elizabeth was only two, Elizabeth probably grew up viewing her older sister Catherine Carey as a substitute mother and care-giver.
Above: The middle-class Middleton family's illustrious Tudor ancestor Catherine Carey (1524 - 1569). Catherine was the second child and only daughter of Mary Boleyn (1500 - 1543). Many believe that Catherine Carey was actually an illegitimate daughter of King Henry VIII, who had a four-year love affair with Mary Boleyn before he married Anne Boleyn in 1525. That would make Catherine Middleton's ancestor Catherine Carey a first cousin, childhood playmate and secret half-sister to Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603). Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Because Queen Anne was executed when Elizabeth was only two, Elizabeth probably grew up viewing her older sister Catherine Carey as a substitute mother and care-giver.
The Other Boleyn Girl
Historians believe Mary Boleyn became the royal mistress of King Henry VIII before 1522, at least three years before Anne Boleyn became his mistress in 1525 -- a fact dramatically portrayed in the 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl.
Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl, claims that Henry VIII used visits to the estate of Sir William Carey as a social cover for his secret affairs with Mary and Anne. Gregory's novel (and the movie) are all about this triangular Tudor tryst -- and the terrible tensions it caused between the two Boleyn sisters.
In fact, based on her own historical sleuthing, Gregory argues quite convincingly that Catherine Carey and her brother Henry Carey were actually the children of King Henry VIII. That claim is now widely accepted by British historians as "probably true." There's plenty of evidence to support it.
In fact, based on her own historical sleuthing, Gregory argues quite convincingly that Catherine Carey and her brother Henry Carey were actually the children of King Henry VIII. That claim is now widely accepted by British historians as "probably true." There's plenty of evidence to support it.
Why is this still important? Because the genealogy is very clear and not disputed: Catherine "Kate" Middleton is certainly a descendant of Mary Boleyn via Mary's daughter Catherine (Carey) Knollys and Catherine's daughter Elizabeth (Knollys) Leighton.
If Catherine Carey was in fact the love-child of Mary Boleyn and King Henry VIII, then Catherine Middleton is also a descendant of Mary Boleyn and King Henry the VIIIth.
Genetically speaking, that makes a large chunk of Kate Middleton's DNA nearly identical to that of Queen Elizabeth I, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
The discovery of this secret love affair gives the middle-class Middletons a much more illustrious royal pedigree than previously thought -- a royal Welsh pedigree that stretches far back in the mists of time to King Arthur, the Princes of Wales and the ancient "Holy Family of Britain."
If Catherine Carey was in fact the love-child of Mary Boleyn and King Henry VIII, then Catherine Middleton is also a descendant of Mary Boleyn and King Henry the VIIIth.
Genetically speaking, that makes a large chunk of Kate Middleton's DNA nearly identical to that of Queen Elizabeth I, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
The discovery of this secret love affair gives the middle-class Middletons a much more illustrious royal pedigree than previously thought -- a royal Welsh pedigree that stretches far back in the mists of time to King Arthur, the Princes of Wales and the ancient "Holy Family of Britain."
Whether Kate descends from King Henry VIII depends on whether one believes the historical evidence that Henry fathered Catherine Carey. It's decidedly thin in places.
Kate Definitely Descends from the Boleyns
The tabloids tumbled to the fact that William and Kate are distant cousins (twelfth cousins once removed) back in August 2010, when they discovered Kate's connection to the Leighton family, who are also in Princess Diana's family tree.
See for example the family tree published as an illustration to the Daily Mail's 3 August 2010 article "William and Kate, kissing cousins! How the royal lovebirds are related thanks to a Tudor tyrant so brutal he's been airbrushed from history," a "deliciously murky" article by Christopher Wilson who played up the marriage between Catherine Carey's daughter, Elizabeth Knollys, and Sir Thomas Leighton, a cruel dictator who ruled the Isle of Guernsey with an iron fist.
This is where the Middleton genealogy stood still from 2010 to 2011. What the press failed to note or recognize (at first) were all the strange rumors surrounding the birth of Elizabeth Knollys, who served as a Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.
It took Charlotte Eagar, a great fan of Tudor romance novels, to point out that Elizabeth Knollys was the granddaughter of Mary Boleyn, who had an affair with King Henry the VIIIth.
The descent of Kate Middleton from King Henry VIII and Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, was first widely publicized by Charlotte Eagar in the 12 March 2011 issue of The Spectator. Eagar's article "Another Boleyn Girl" pointed out a Middleton family connection to the Boleyns.
This is where the Middleton genealogy stood still from 2010 to 2011. What the press failed to note or recognize (at first) were all the strange rumors surrounding the birth of Elizabeth Knollys, who served as a Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.
It took Charlotte Eagar, a great fan of Tudor romance novels, to point out that Elizabeth Knollys was the granddaughter of Mary Boleyn, who had an affair with King Henry the VIIIth.
The descent of Kate Middleton from King Henry VIII and Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, was first widely publicized by Charlotte Eagar in the 12 March 2011 issue of The Spectator. Eagar's article "Another Boleyn Girl" pointed out a Middleton family connection to the Boleyns.
To confirm Kate Middleton's descent from the Boleyns, see The Ancestry of the Duchess of Cambridge published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society at Wargs.com. One may also use Peerage.com to trace the lineage of Elizabeth Knollys and Sir Thomas Leighton down through the families of Sherrington Talbot, Davenport, Ashford, Hobbes, Davis and Lupton to the Middletons.
Henry VIII's Secret Love Children?
How do we know that Catherine Carey and her brother, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon of Hunsdon, were the love children of Henry VIII, and not the children of their father, Sir William Carey, whose name they bear?
Unfortunately, Eagar goes light on the historical proof that Mary Boleyn gave birth to King Henry VIII's children.
Many historians have also criticized Philippa Gregory, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl, for doing the same -- dramatizing history with precious few facts to support this intriguing hypothesis.
How do we know that Catherine Carey and her brother, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon of Hunsdon, were the love children of Henry VIII, and not the children of their father, Sir William Carey, whose name they bear?
Unfortunately, Eagar goes light on the historical proof that Mary Boleyn gave birth to King Henry VIII's children.
Many historians have also criticized Philippa Gregory, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl, for doing the same -- dramatizing history with precious few facts to support this intriguing hypothesis.
There's plenty of debate on Philippa Gregory's website here.
Evidence that King Henry VIII fathered Catherine Carey
"That King Henry VIII had an affair with Mary (Boleyn) Carey is indisputable fact," says genealogist Anthony Hoskins in his 2007 article Mary Boleyn's Carey Children -- Offspring of King Henry VIII? "Circumstantial evidence indicates a high probability that Henry VIII fathered two children by Mary Boleyn, meaning that he has many descendants in both England and America."
The summary of the argument for King Henry VIII as secret father of Middleton family ancestor Catherine Carey goes like this:
Mary Boleyn wed to Sir William Carey on 9 February 1520.
Catherine was born in 1524, not in 1530 as some books report. Therefore, Catherine was "born at the height of Henry's passion for her mother" Mary Boleyn, according to Philippa Gregory.
Just prior to Catherine's birth, on September 23, 1523, the King named one of his ships the Mary Boleyn.
"To mark baby Henry's birth, in 1526, King Henry VIII gave to William Carey the borough of Buckingham and the manor of East Greenwhich," says Charlotte Eagar.
King Henry abandoned Mary Boleyn as his lover in 1525, while she was pregnant with little Henry, and he made Anne Boleyn his mistress in Mary's place.
The King did not marry Anne until January 1533 -- it took that long for him to get his first marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon annulled. Some say the King's battle with the Catholic Church over this divorce was the primary cause of the Protestant reformation in England.
Catherine was born in 1524, not in 1530 as some books report. Therefore, Catherine was "born at the height of Henry's passion for her mother" Mary Boleyn, according to Philippa Gregory.
Just prior to Catherine's birth, on September 23, 1523, the King named one of his ships the Mary Boleyn.
"To mark baby Henry's birth, in 1526, King Henry VIII gave to William Carey the borough of Buckingham and the manor of East Greenwhich," says Charlotte Eagar.
King Henry abandoned Mary Boleyn as his lover in 1525, while she was pregnant with little Henry, and he made Anne Boleyn his mistress in Mary's place.
The King did not marry Anne until January 1533 -- it took that long for him to get his first marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon annulled. Some say the King's battle with the Catholic Church over this divorce was the primary cause of the Protestant reformation in England.
Best Evidence: The Word of a Saint
Here then we have a contemporary source, a Catholic vicar, loudly blabbing around court that Henry Carey is King Henry VIII's son by "the Queen's sister" Mary Boleyn.
This implies that Catherine Carey was also King Henry VIII's daughter by Mary Boleyn.
Two weeks later, after openly criticizing the affair between the King and Mary Boleyn, Haile was executed -- he seems to have struck a nerve.
Haile was beatified as a holy martyr by Pope Leo XIII in 1889.
Conclusion: we literally have the testimony of a saint that the Carey children were offspring of King Henry VIII. In fact, Haile gave his life for telling the tale.
Clues in Old Paintings?
Henry Carey's portrait does not resemble that of his father William Carey but very clearly resembles the portraits of the young King Henry VIII. (Several portait images of King Henry VIII are available at Marilee Cody's Tudor England: Images, and New Tudor Portraits, two websites dedicated to royal portraits from the period.)
Catherine Carey's portrait and the painting of her daughter Elizabeth Knollys, Lady Leighton, both show women with red hair and pale facial features that bear a striking resemblance to those of Queen Elizabeth I -- who was King Henry VIII's daughter by Anne Boleyn.
Above: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, the son of Mary Boleyn.
Above: King Henry VIII in the 1530s.
Above: Queen Elizabeth I - "Darnley Portrait" ca. 1575
Above: Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys, by Steven van der Meulen
Above: Elizabeth Knollys, 1577 (daughter of Catherine Carey Knollys)
Perhaps this is just the family resemblance that one would expect between first cousins who both descend from the Boleyn family, but some attribute the remarkable resemblance to sharing a father: King Henry VIII.
Extraordinary Favors
Despite the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn in 1536, Catherine and Henry Carey remained in the good graces of King Henry VIII, who showed a "paternal" interest in their status at court and made sure that they were honored at court throughout their lives.
For example, Catherine Carey was assigned to serve as Maid of Honor to Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.
For example, Catherine Carey was assigned to serve as Maid of Honor to Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.
Queen Elizabeth I also honored Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys, by making her "Lady of the Bedchamber" between 1559 and 1568 -- the highest possible rank among the Queen's ladies of the Privy Chamber.
Some historians read this as Queen Elizabeth's fondness for a half-sister.
Lady Katie's Ghost at Kate Middleton's Wedding?
When Lady Knollys passed away on 15 January 1568, she "was given what can only be described as a royal funeral by the bereaved Queen Elizabeth I." She was interred April 1568 in St. Edmund's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, at the Queen's expense.
Remarkably, as Kate Middleton walked down the aisle to wed Prince William at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, she passed the extraordinarily ornate monument to Dame Catherine Carey, who was interred in the Abbey at St. Edmund's chapel. See also the Lady Catherine Carey Knollys Find-A-Grave Memorial here for a photo of her tomb.
According to the official virtual tour of Westminster Abbey, St. Edmund's Chapel is just to the right of the High Altar where William and Kate were wed.
When Henry Carey joined the military expedition to suppress the Northern Uprising of 1569, he played a central role in its success. Queen Elizabeth thanked him with a personal note signed "Your loving kinswoman, Elizabeth R."
At 36 feet in height, the alabaster monument to Henry Carey (1525 - 1596) in St. John the Baptist's Chapel "is the tallest in Westminster Abbey."
It is on the left side of the high altar where Prince William and Catherine Middleton wed -- just opposite the monument to Catherine Carey.
Thus Catherine and Henry Carey, ancestors of Catherine Middleton and William Windsor, had places of high honor at the Royal Wedding.
Like Catherine's half-sister Queen Elizabeth I, they've called Westminster Abbey their "permanent address" for more than five centuries, and they've seen many weddings and coronations.
But it seems especially fitting that they stood in silent witness on the right and left side of the high altar where Kate and William joined their hands in holy matrimony.
Lady Catherine Carey's ghost must have been smiling to herself. After waiting patiently for almost 500 years, her Middleton descendants are finally in line for the throne.
But it seems especially fitting that they stood in silent witness on the right and left side of the high altar where Kate and William joined their hands in holy matrimony.
Lady Catherine Carey's ghost must have been smiling to herself. After waiting patiently for almost 500 years, her Middleton descendants are finally in line for the throne.
"Waity Katie" indeed.
Descent from Mary Boleyn to Kate Middleton
2. Descendants of Lady Catherine (Carey) Knollys - Wikitree
Catherine Carey (1524 - 1569) Tree - Familypedia
Catherine Carey (1524 - 1569) Tree - Familypedia
3. Descendants of Elizabeth (Knollys) Leighton - Wikitree
Elizabeth Knollys (1549 - 1609) Tree - Familypedia
Elizabeth Knollys (1549 - 1609) Tree - Familypedia
4. Descendants of Elizabeth (Leighton) Talbot - Wikitree
Elizabeth Leighton (1573 - 1633) Tree - Familypedia
5. Sherrington Talbot (1611 - 1677) Tree - Familypedia
Elizabeth Leighton (1573 - 1633) Tree - Familypedia
5. Sherrington Talbot (1611 - 1677) Tree - Familypedia
6. Elizabeth (Talbot) Davenport (1628 - 1709) - Wikitree
Elizabeth (Talbot) Davenport - Peerage.com
Elizabeth (Talbot) Davenport - Find-A-Grave memorial
Elizabeth Talbot (1645? - 1709) Tree - Familypedia
Elizabeth Talbot (1645? - 1709) Tree - Familypedia
7. William Davenport I - Wikitree
8. William Davenport II - Wikitree
9. Ancestors of Sarah (Davenport) Ashford - Wikitree
Sarah Davenport (1741 - 1805) Tree - Familypedia
Sarah Davenport (1741 - 1805) Tree - Familypedia
10. Ancestors of Elizabeth Davenport (Ashford) Hobbes - Wikitree
11. Ancestors of Christiana Maria (Hobbes) Davis - Wikitree
12. Ancestors of Harriet Albina (Davis) Lupton - Wikitree
13. Ancestors of Olive Christiana (Lupton) Middleton - Wikitree
14. Peter Francis Middleton (1920 - 2010) - Wikitree
15. Michael Francis Middleton (b. 1949)
16. Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton (b. 1982)
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Elizabeth I of England - Wikipedia
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Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon - Wikipedia
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Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon - Wikipedia
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John Haile - Wikipedia
Mary Boleyn - Wikipedia
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John Haile - Wikipedia
Mary Boleyn - Wikipedia
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"The Other Boleyn Girl"(IMdB) - Tudors in the Movies and On Television - TudorHistory.org
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Wilson, Christopher "Wills and Kate, Kissing Cousins! How the Royal Love Birds are Related Thanks to a Tudor Tyrant So Bloodthirsty He's Been Airbrushed from History," The Daily Mail 3 August 2010.
Wilson, Christopher "Wills and Kate, Kissing Cousins! How the Royal Love Birds are Related Thanks to a Tudor Tyrant So Bloodthirsty He's Been Airbrushed from History," The Daily Mail 3 August 2010.
