Lady Elizabeth Howard Boleyn, the Countess of Wiltshire, died on 3 April 1538 … having lived long enough to see two of her three adult children murders by King Henry VIII. The Anne Boleyn Files did an excellent post on the potential cause of her death, and I cannot help but think she was grateful to death when it came for her.
Lady Elizabeth is one of the historical figures who proves that money and position in life cannot spare you from the ravages of suffering. She was born the daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Tilney, and as such had both wealth and status her whole life. Her marriage was, as far as historical records can show, her choice and not an unhappy one. Three of her children reached adulthood, which was better than a lot of noble families had so she probably felt blessed in that, as well.
She is not, in my opinion, given enough credit as a mother. Perhaps it is because the lies spread about her children – Mary the Great Whore, Anne the Seductive Harpy, and George the Rapist and Sodomite – don’t lend themselves to acknowledging that the Boleyn’s were raised well.
Mary had an affair with Henry VIII, but it is the only record or rumour of her supposed promiscuity that has any basis in fact. There is no one else with whom she is purported to have cheated on her husband, and the years of her widowhood at court with Anne have no blemish on them even from Anne’s enemies. There is no historical evidence that she slept with the King Francis I of France except for slanders and libels spread decades after the event would have occurred.
As for the fabled homewrecker Anne Boleyn — she left the court and returned home to her mother’s protection when Henry VIII began pursuing her in the mid 1520s. She stayed there for more than year, perhaps even two. From his own letters we know that Henry thought it amazing that Anne would not return to court even under her mother’s protection, which says something about how sure he was that the Lady Elizabeth would protect her chick from any of his lascivious intentions.
When Anne finally did give in and agree to wed Henry VIII, her mother came back to court with her, and her mother’s presence is probably one of the reasons the king had to wait more than 5 years to consummate his relationship with Anne. Neither the mother or the daughter would countenance hanky-panky before his majesty put a ring on it.
What about that theoretical sexual assaulter and incestuous creep, George Boleyn? Well, he was never accused of rape during his lifetime and, according reputable historical sources, he and his wife Jane had a reasonably good marriage. Neither was there any rumour or hint of homosexual activity until after his death (not that homosexual activity would make him a “bad guy”). The idea that he slept with his sister is, of course, poppycock. As queen, Anne couldn’t go to the toilet alone, let alone find enough private time to bone her own brother.
Thus, the Lady Elizabeth clearly didn’t raise deviant miscreants. However, what convinces me the most of her maternal devotion is what Anne said when she was arrested:
“O, my mother, [thou wilt die with] sorrow?”
One of Anne’s first thoughts was for her mother’s pain. That is a sure indicator that Anne knew herself and her siblings to be loved. And considering that Lady Elizabeth had to stand helplessly by were her children with accused of incest and judicially murdered, I assume she thought she would die of sorrow at some point. As for myself, I would have committed suicide in Henry’s favourite palace and left the superstitious king live in terror of my ghost. I would also have left some sort of curse to wreck his peace of mind. That’s how I roll.
Elizabeth Boleyn was buried on 7 April under the chapel floor of St Mary-at-Lambeth, with her sister, the recently divorced and openly rebellious Katherine Daubeney, Countess of Bridgewater, as the chief mourner. Having died in London, Lady Elizabeth “was conveyed from a house beside Baynard’s Castle by barge to Lambeth with torches burning and four baneys set out on all quarters of the barge, which was covered with black and a white cross.”
Rest in peace, Lady Elizabeth Howard Boleyn. It is my sincere hope that you are reunited with your children.
