Lady Margaret Butler
Bornc. 1454
Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Diedc. 1539 (aged 84–85)
England
Noble familyButler
Spouse(s)Sir William Boleyn
IssueAnne Boleyn
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
John Boleyn
Anthony Boleyn
Jane Boleyn
Alice Boleyn
Margaret Boleyn
William Boleyn
James Boleyn
Edward Boleyn
FatherThomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond
MotherAnne Hankford
Arms of Butler, Earl of Ormond: Gules, three covered cups or[1]

Lady Margaret Boleyn[2] (c. 1454 – 1539) was an Irish noblewoman, the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond. She married Sir William Boleyn and through her eldest son Sir Thomas Boleyn, was the paternal grandmother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England, and great-grandmother of Anne and Henry's daughter, Elizabeth I of England.

Life

She was born at Kilkenny Castle in County Kilkenny, Ireland, the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond and Anne Hankford. Her paternal grandparents were James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond and Joan de Beauchamp. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Richard Hankford (c. 1397 – 1431) and Anne de Montagu.

She had two sisters: Anne who married Sir James de St Leger, by whom she had issue, and Elizabeth. Anne and Margaret claimed to be co-heiresses of their father and the Earldom of Ormond, but their cousin, Piers Butler, who had physical control of the Irish estates and the backing of the Irish Council, claimed to be the heir through the direct male line. In 1520, the King granted her a pardon for the alienation of Fritwell Manor, Oxfordshire.[3] The issue wasn't resolved until 1528, by which time Margaret's position was good, with the influence of her granddaughter, then betrothed to Henry VIII, and Margaret's son, Thomas Boleyn's, status as King's adviser.[4]

Margaret married before November 1469[5] William Boleyn, with whom she had ten children. Her son, the ambitious courtier Thomas Boleyn, became the first Earl of Wiltshire and by his marriage to Elizabeth Howard, the daughter of the Earl of Surrey, the future Duke of Norfolk, he was the father to Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England. Thus, Margaret was great-grandmother to Queen Elizabeth I of England.[6]

From around 1519 onward, she was declared by inquisition to have suffered periods of insanity making her incapable of managing her own estates.[7]

She was the last of the Boleyns to live in Hever Castle as it was given to Anne of Cleves in 1540, after Margaret's death. Her lands were claimed by her only surviving grandchild, Mary Boleyn, and her husband, William Stafford.[8]

Issue

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Name Birth Death Notes
Anne Boleyn 18 November 1475 31 October 1479 "aged 3 years, 11 months and 13 days", buried with a monumental brass at Blickling.[9]
Thomas, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde c. 1477 12 March 1539 married Elizabeth Howard; had issue, including Queen Anne Boleyn[6]
John 1481 1484  
Anne c.1483 6 January 1556 married John Shelton; had issue
Anthony 1483 30 September 1493  
Jane (Amata, Amy or Ann) c. 1485 unknown married Sir Philip Calthorpe, had daughter Elizabeth Calthorpe.
Alice c. 1487 1538 married Robert Clere
Margaret c. 1489 1556 married John Sackville; had issue.[10][11]
William c. 1491 18 December 1571  Married Ellen Venables
James c. 1493 5 December 1561 married Elizabeth Wood
Edward c. 1496 unknown married Anne Tempest

Fictional portrayals

Margaret Butler as Grandmother Boleyn appears in the 2002 Philippa Gregory novel The Other Boleyn Girl. She is portrayed as a critical and insubordinate woman who is shrewd and uncaring toward her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She does seem to inquire about life in the English court. Margaret lived in the Boleyn estate in Hever Castle, and plays a supporting role in the novel.

See also

References

  1. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p. 864
  2. ^ As wife of a Knight, she would also be known as Lady Boleyn, like her daughter-in-law was before Thomas Boleyn became Viscount Rochford.
  3. ^ p. 38, The Boleyns, David Loades
  4. ^ p. 31, The Boleyns, David Loades
  5. ^ Wells-Furby, Bridget (2004). A Catalogue of the Medieval Muniments at Berkeley Castle. Vol. 2. p. 927.
  6. ^ a b Ives, E.W. (1986). Anne Boleyn. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Appendix VI: The Insanity of Margaret Boleyn (Escheator's Inquisitions, Cambs and Hunts, 30 and 31 Henry VIII)", in W. Rye, 'The Murder of Amy Robsart: a Brief for the Prosecution', The Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany, III Part I (A.H. Goose and Co., Norwich 1885), pp. 251-339, at pp. 319-20 (Google).
  8. ^ p. 57, The Boleyns, David Loades
  9. ^ J.S. Cotman, D. Turner, S.R. Meyrick, A. Way and N.H. Nicolas, Engravings of Sepulchral Brasses in Norfolk, 2nd Edition (Henry G. Bohn, London 1838), I, p. 23 (Google) and Plate XXXIII (2 pages back).
  10. ^ Collins, Arthur (1727). The English Baronage. Vol. I. London: Robert Gosling. pp. 393–5.
  11. ^ Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry, ed. by Kimball C. Everingham. Vol. I (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah. ISBN 9781461045205. Pages 385-386

External links

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