Thomas Boleyn Earl of Wiltshire Timeline 1477-1539

Thomas Boleyn was born to William Boleyn and Margaret Butler at Blickling Hall, Norfolk.

Thomas was educated by private tutors.

Thomas Boleyn was part of a force sent by King Henry VII to put down the forces of Perkin Warbeck pretender to the throne.

Thomas married Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd duke of Norfolk.

A daughter, Mary, was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn at Blickling Hall, Norfolk.

A son, Thomas, was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn at Blickling Hall, Norfolk. He died young.

A daughter, Anne, was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn at Blickling Hall, Norfolk.

Thomas attended the wedding of Prince Arthur to Catherine of Aragon.

Thomas Boleyn was chosen to be part of the party to escort Margaret Tudor to Scotland where she would marry King James IV of Scotland.

A son, George, was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn at Blickling Hall, Norfolk.

Thomas Boleyn was created a Knight of the Bath as part of the honours bestowed to celebrate the coronation of King Henry VIII.

Thomas was appointed Sheriff of Kent.

Boleyn was appointed English ambassador to the Netherlands.

Thomas Boleyn successfully negotiated a place for his daughter, Anne, at the court of Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Netherlands.

Thomas managed to secure positions for both his daughters to go to France as maids to Henry VIII’s sister, Mary. The princess was going to marry King Louis XII of France.

Boleyn was appointed Sheriff of Kent for the second time.

Boleyn was appointed English ambassador to France. He held the position for three years and helped to arrange the Field of the Cloth of Gold summit between Henry VIII and Farncis I.

Thomas’s elder daughter, Mary, was appointed maid-of-honour to Catherine of Aragon.

Thomas Boleyn’s daughter, Mary, married William Carey.

Thomas Boleyn and his wife Elizabeth were in France to celebrate the Field of the Cloth of Gold summit meeting between King Henry VIII and Francis I of France.

Boleyn’s daughter, Mary, began an affair with King Henry VIII.

Thomas Boleyn was sent to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V as an envoy.

Thomas’s daughter Anne was brought back to England from France because Thomas Boleyn was negotiating a marriage between her and James Butler, Earl of Ormond. He secured a position for Anne as maid-of-honour to Catherine of Aragon.

Thomas Boleyn was sent to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V as an envoy for the second time.

Boleyn was created a Knight of the Garter.

King Henry VIII asked Thomas Boleyn’s daughter, Anne to become his mistress but she refused.

Boleyn’s son, George, married Jane Parker

Thomas Boleyn was created Viscount Rochford.

Boleyn was part of a large envoy that was sent to France.

King Henry VIII had maintained an interest in Anne Boleyn and seemed determined to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne.

With no progress being made towards securing Henry VIII a divorce, the Boleyn family began to work towards securing Thomas Wolsey’s fall from favour.

Mary Boleyn’s husband, William Carey, died from sweating sickness.

Thomas Boleyn was one of a large group that was sent to Pope Clement VII to seek support for Henry VIII to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon.

Thomas Boleyn was created Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond. His son, George Boleyn, was created Viscount Rochford.

King Henry had been persuaded to make himself Head of the Church in England in order to secure his divorce. Thomas Wolsey had fallen from favour.

Boleyn was appointed Lord Privy Seal.

A warrant for Wolsey’s arrest was drawn up. It was sent to Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, who was instructed to arrest Wolsey and bring him to London.

Thomas Wolsey had been taken ill on the journey south and he died at 8 am at the Abbey of St Mary in Leicester.

Anne Boleyn was created Marquess of Pembroke. It was the first time a hereditary title had been given to a woman. The ceremony took place at Windsor.

Anne Boleyn had finally surrendered to Henry and they began living openly as man and wife. Anne had her own court which included George Boleyn and his wife Jane, Lady Rochford, Sir Francis Bryan, Francis Weston, William Brereton, Sir Thomas Wyatt and other members of the Boleyn family.

Anne Boleyn told Henry VIII that she was pregnant. In order to ensure that the child was legitimate Henry knew that he had to marry Anne as soon as possible.

Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII were secretly married in the King’s chapel at Whitehall by Dr Rowland Lee, one of the royal chaplains.

Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen consort of England in St Peter’s Abbey, Westminster. She walked in procession from Westminster Hall to the Abbey but despite the fact that people lined the streets to watch there was no cheering for the new Queen.

Anne Boleyn went to Hampton Court to rest in preparation for the birth of her child in September.

Thomas Boleyn’s daughter, Anne, gave birth to a baby girl with red hair and her mother’s features. Henry was disappointed that the child was a girl and blamed both God and Anne for denying him a son. She was named Elizabeth after Henry’s mother.

Boleyn’s daughter, Anne announced that she was pregnant again.

Thomas Boleyn’s daughter, Mary, secretly married William Stafford, second son of an Essex landowner. Thomas was furious and disowned her.

Anne Boleyn was delivered of a stillborn child. Henry who did not want to lose face ordered the details be kept secret.

Anne Boleyn declared she was pregnant again.

Thomas Boleyn’s daughter, Anne, was prematurely delivered of a stillborn child. Henry again kept the news secret because he was worried that people would say it was God’s revenge for the execution of Bishop Fisher.

Anne Boleyn discovered that she was pregnant again. She was aware that everything depended on the outcome of this pregnancy, especially since King Henry had begun to take an interest in one of her ladies, Jane Seymour.

Catherine of Aragon died. It was commonly believed that Anne Boleyn had slowly poisoned her to death. Nowadays it is believed that she died from cancer.

King Henry’s daughter, Mary, was taken very ill and it was commonly believed that she was being poisoned by Anne Boleyn.

Anne Boleyn miscarried of a son four months into her pregnancy. She blamed the miscarriage on concern following Henry’s recent fall from his horse and Henry’s interest in Jane Seymour.

Henry believed that the miscarriage of a son was God’s way of declaring that his marriage to Anne Boleyn was unlawful either because of her earlier pre-contract to James Butler or because of Henry’s affair with Anne’s sister, Mary Boleyn. He decided that he needed to find a way out of his marriage to Anne.

Thomas Cromwell began collecting evidence against Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII signed a document authorising commissioners to enquire into any kind of treason committed by Anne Boleyn.

Thomas Boleyn and was replaced as Privy Seal by Thomas Cromwell.

Thomas Boleyn’s daughter, Anne, was indicted before a grand jury for treason. She was charged with having committed adultery with Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton, Mark Smeaton and her brother George. She was also charged with plotting to murder the King and making fun of him in public.

Anne Boleyn was tried by 26 peers of the realm including her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, who presided over the trial. Although Anne argued her innocence she was found guilty and sentenced to death. George Boleyn was tried after Anne and was also found guilty.

Thomas’s son, George was executed for treason. He was beheaded at Tower Green in the Tower of London.

Thomas’s daughter, Anne Boleyn, was executed by beheading with a single stroke of the sword. She was buried in the choir of the royal chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.

King Henry VIII married Jame Seymour.

Thomas Boleyn took part in dealing with the Pilgrimage of Grace, the rebellion against the closure of the monasteries.

Jane Seymour was delivered of a son, Edward.

Thomas Boleyn was present at the christening of Prince Edward.

Thomas Boleyn’s wife, Elizabeth, died. She was buried at St Mary’s Church, Lambeth.

It was rumoured that Boleyn would marry Margaret Douglas, the King’s niece.

Thomas Boleyn died. He was buried in St Peter’s Church, Hever, Kent.