22. Mary Boleyn may not have kept Henry VIII’s favor — but at least she kept her head.
Bessie’s successor in Henry VIII’s bed was none other than his future sister-in-law, Mary Boleyn. In 1520, Mary married Henry’s gentleman of the privy chamber, William Carey — but the affair may not have ended with this marriage. Rumors suggested that the two Carey children, Catherine and Henry were fathered by the King. However, Henry never acknowledged them. Perhaps this was because, by the time Henry Carey was born, Henry had his eye on Anne Boleyn. Henry only admitted the affair because he required a dispensation for having a sexual relationship with his future bride’s sister before he and Anne married. Mary Boleyn was quietly passed over and died in relative obscurity. Some may see her as a loser in love compared to her sister. But at least she kept her life.