Kate and Cally are going on a who's-who tour of the Tudor court. Next, they'll be discussing the fathers and siblings who rose to power with our queens, especially the Boleyn, Seymour, and Parr families.
How did the elevation of an English queen benefit her family? Did the politics of her family influence her rise? How did the family members make names for themselves? And were our queens active participants in these political games, or were they just a vehicle for their families’ ambitions?
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About the episode
With the elevation of every queen at Henry’s court came the elevation of her family. Especially with the English queens—Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr—their families benefited greatly from having Henry as an in-law.
Interestingly, though, we learned that not all of the family members owed their political success to the queens in their life. We expected to tell you about scheming fathers and brothers, people taking advantage of powerful connections, but the story (as ever) is a bit more nuanced than that.
The Boleyns may be the most notorious of these families. From a young age, the Boleyn siblings were introduced to the culture and politics of courtly life—both in England and abroad. Due to the success of Sir Thomas Boleyn as an ambassador and courtier, his children understood how to play the game of court and use connections to their advantage. It’s really no wonder, then, that Henry became attracted to their refinement, talents, and charisma. Anne and George, in particular, became successful career courtiers whose ambition catapulted them to power.
Similarly, the Seymours rose in the wake of the Boleyns, largely occupying the space they left behind. Edward Seymour, Jane’s brother, is really the power behind the name here—his savvy and intelligence, in addition to his sister’s unlikely marriage, made him one of the most important men at the Tudor court.
And finally, the Parr siblings—William and Anne—were actually staples of Henry’s court circle long before Katherine caught his eye. William was a friend of Henry’s and a member of his household, while Anne has the rare distinction of having served all six of our queens as a lady-in-waiting. Had Katherine not been connected to these career courtiers, she may never have landed her title as queen.
All in all, we can absolutely agree that the careers of these men (and one sister) were impacted and improved by the elevation of the women in their lives. However, we also want to take time to explore the ways in which they won merits for themselves—merits which, in some cases, allowed them to take advantage of a queen’s power for much longer than one might think…
Bibliography and Further Reading
Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors (Grove Press: 2016)
John Guy and Julia Fox, Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the Marriage that Shook Europe (HarperCollins: 2023)
John Guy, Tudor England (Oxford University Press: 1990)
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Blackwell Publishing: 2005)
Suzannah Lipscomb, The King is Dead: The Last Will and Testament of Henry VIII (Pegasus Books, 2015)
David Loades, The Tudor Court (Headstart History: 1992)
Linda Porter, Katherine the Queen (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2010)
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII (Simon & Schuster, 2016)
David Starkey, The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and Politics (Vintage Books: 1985)
Alison Weir, Henry VIII: The King and His Court (Ballantine Books: 2001)
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