Question from Sara - Catherine Carey's birthdate
posted by Lara | 9:22 PM
I was wondering what information there is on the birthdate of Catherine Carey, Mary Boleyn's daughter. I read a lot of Alison Weir's books, and on the family tree in the back it says she was born in 1529, but when I read Philippa Gregory's book "The Other Boleyn Girl," (which I know is fiction, but it does have some fact in it) she said she was born in 1524, and I have read that in other sources, too. Does anyone know anything helpful about her, like why there are two dates and which is more likely?
9 Comments:
The confusion over dates of birth is not uncommon among those born prior to the middle of the 1500s. Birth certificates did not exist. The only written record of a birth might be of a baptism (all children were baptized in the first year of life, as soon after birth as possible), but keeping of those records was at that time at the discretion of the local parish officials. Further, female births were less likely to be recorded than male births, as women had no independent status at law. In specific regard to Catherine (or Katherine) Carey, later Lady Knollys, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives her birth as circa 1523. The author of the entry compares her birth to that of her brother Henry Carey: "Henry Carey's date of birth (4 March 1526) suggests that his conception may have postdated [Mary Boleyn's]affair [with Henry VIII]; but Katherine was probably the elder of the two and the king's daughter. Her surviving portrait, which was painted early in 1562 and records her age as thirty-eight, suggests a birth date of 1523/4, and this is in keeping with the known facts of her early adulthood. In November 1539 she was appointed a maid of honour to Anne of Cleves, and on 26 April 1540 she married Francis Knollys (1511/12–1596). According to a note in Francis's Latin dictionary their first child, Henry, was born ‘the Tuesday before Easter Day [12 April] 1541’. Since maids to an adult queen were usually aged sixteen or more, and marriage at thirteen or less did not usually involve cohabitation, this evidence, too, suggests that Katherine was older than her brother and born before 1525." Weir is therefore probably incorrect in giving 1529 as Katherine Carey's year of birth. Philippa Gregory is perhaps more accurate, even though her book was fictional.
I read somewhere that it was basically confirmed that Mary Boleyn was pregnant with Katherine when her husband died and that one of her children confirmed this. And really, The Other Boleyn Girl basically has no fact in it, aside from the very very basic ones, I swear.
II think that people should just agree on a date instead of people saying this and that date because im really confused!!!
Mary Boleyn was pregnant when her husband died, according to one source, but this is almost definitely a child who did not survive, of whom she probably had many.
Can anyone look at Lettice Knollys' picture, daughter of Catherine Carey, and honestly think she's not the great granddaughter of Henry VIII AND neice of Elizabeth !?
Ok, i am pretty sure that Catherine Carey was born before 1525 because she was married in 1539 which suggests that she was older than ten. The Other Boleyn Girl does have many factual points in it, Trust me I'm a Tudor Know It All! I swear I like spend at least 4 hours a day reasearching them! Anyway, I do not believe that Mary was even pregnant in 1529 when her husband died. Her son Henry was born in 1526, which is a fact so if Catherine was married in 1539 she was definately older than Henry.
I would just like to know when Katherine Carey was born? My genealogy sheets says around 1540. However, that is impossible if her mother Anne Morgan was born 1529?
I saw the movie the other Boleyn girl, and I have many questions??
I am just wondering if the Royal family will ever let there be DNA work done on some very old royal bones? It would be nice to have proof on some genealogy lines, particularly Mary Boleyn family genealogy.
Well I don't think you can use DNA as far back as the Tudor Dynasty. There is no 100% proof of anyone's parentage without DNA. Try Following the descendants of Mary Boleyn through her daughter at the Peerage.com. Mary Boleyn's daugher is called Mary there and not Katherine or Catherine (which is odd). Besides a line down to Beatrice Windsor through her mother Sarah Ferguson you will also find a line down to William Windsor through his mother the late Lady Diana. Do William and Beatrice share Henry VIII's DNA or only Henry VII's.
Post a Comment
<< Home