Boleyn family

The Boleyn family was a prominent English family in the gentry and aristocracy. They reached the peak of their influence during the Tudor period, when Anne Boleyn became the second wife and queen consort of Henry VIII, their daughter being the future Elizabeth I.^[1]

Boleyn
Noble house
The arms of the Boleyn family, showing three bull's heads on a white field
Country	Kingdom of England
Place of origin	Norfolk
Founded	1283; 742 years ago (1283)
Founder	John Boleyn
Final head	Thomas Boleyn
Seat	Hever Castle
Titles	Marchioness of Pembroke Earl of Wiltshire Earl of Ormond Viscount Rochford Queen consort of England
Dissolution	1637 (1637)

History

John Boleyn of Salle, Norfolk first appears on the register of Walsingham Abbey.^[2] There is a possibility that John Boleyn had a father by the name of “Simon de Boleyne” who purchased lands in the aforementioned village of Salle, Norfolk in 1252.^[3]

Due to the irregularity of English spelling at this period, the name in documents is also spelled Bulleyn or Bullen. It has been suggested that the surname "Boleyn" was originally pronounced as "Boulogne", due to the theory of a French origin for the family.^[4]

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales and King Charles III are descendants of Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister.^[5]

Hever Castle in Kent was the family seat of the Boleyns and the childhood home of future queen consort Anne Boleyn.^[6] Sir Geoffrey Boleyn bought Hever Castle in 1462 and Blickling Hall in Norfolk in 1452.^[7][8] The Boleyns lived off the profits of the estates, only visiting them occasionally, but Hever Castle was home when they were not at court or on the king's missions.^[9]

Notable members

• Thomas Boleyn (1400-1472), Master of Gonville Hall, Cambridge
• Geoffrey Boleyn (1406-1463) Lord Mayor of the City of London
• William Boleyn (1451-1505), Sheriff of Kent
• Thomas Boleyn (1477-1539), 1st Earl of Wiltshire
• Mary Boleyn (1499-1543), Lady-in-waiting
• Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) Queen Consort, mother of Queen Elizabeth I
• George Boleyn (1504-1536) Viscount of Rochford
• William Boleyn (died 1552) Archdeacon of Winchester
• James Boleyn (died 1561), Courtier, Chancellor of the Household
• George Boleyn (died 1603) Dean of Lichfield

Further reading

• Julia Fox, Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford
• Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn
• Elizabeth Norton, The Boleyn Women
• Amanda Harvey Purse, The Boleyns: From the Tudors to the Windsors

Boleyn Family tree

v t e Boleyn family tree

John Boleyn I [10] (relationship to Nicholas unclear) Nicholas Boleyn [10] John Boleyn II [10] (c. 1300 – c. 1369) Emma [10] Sir John Bracton [10] Thomas Boleyn I [10] (c. 1350–1411) Builder of St Peter and St Paul's, Salle Agnes Alice Bracton [10] (c. 1390 – ) Geoffrey Boleyn I [10] (c. 1380 – 1440) Yeoman of Salle, Norfolk Sir Thomas Hoo [10] (c. 1396 – 1455) Baron Hoo and Hastings William Boleyn (d. 1481) John Boleyn The Very Rev Thomas Boleyn II [10] (c. 1405–1472) Master of Gonville Hall, Cambridge Sir Geoffrey Boleyn II [10] (1406–1463) Lord Mayor of London Anne Hoo [10] (c. 1424 – 1482) Thomas Butler Earl of Ormond (1426 - 1515) Thomas Howard (1443 - 1524) Duke of Norfolk Sir Thomas Boleyn III [10] (c. 1442 – 1471) Lord of Blickling Hall Sir William Boleyn II [10] (1451–1505) Sheriff of Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk Lady Margaret Butler [10] (c. 1454 – 1539) Elizabeth Howard (c. 1480 - 1538) Sir Thomas Boleyn [10] (c. 1477–1539) 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Ormand William Boleyn (1491–1571) Sir James Boleyn (1493–1561) Sir Edward Boleyn (c. 1496 - ) George Boleyn Viscount Rochford (1503/4–1536) Mary Boleyn (c. 1499 - 1543) Anne Boleyn [10] (c. 1501 - 1536) Queen Consort Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) King of England Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) Queen of England