Today in 1538 Anne Boleyn’s mother, Elizabeth, Countess of Wiltshire, was buried in the Howard Chapel of St Mary’s Church, Lambeth.
Elizabeth Boleyn often fades into the background when we talk about the Boleyn family, with more attention on her father, and siblings. But we do get a glimpse of her when Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower in 1536 and she said, “O My Mother, Thou wilt die with sorrow.”
Also in 1536, she was reported as being “sore diseased with the cough which grieves her sore” so there is speculation that she may have had tuberculosis.
Elizabeth was born around 1480 into the wealthy and influential Howard family, as the elder of the two daughters of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and his first wife Elizabeth Tilney. She was apparently a beautiful woman, served Elizabeth of York and Catherine of Aragon, and was her daughter Anne’s chaperone when Anne first started being courted by Henry VIII, then serving her when she became Queen Consort.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Spring 2018 Tudor Summit: Claire Ridgway on the Boleyns
Elizabeth Tilney: Grandmother to Queens and Mistresses
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.