Mary Boleyn Puns

(Spanish accent) "You are divorcing me because I was previously married...for the sister of your ex-mistress? You will make our legitimate daughter into a bastard, instead of legitimizing your bastard son? Why, exactly, should I take your case seriously again?"

I'd known recently through DNA that Mary Boleyn was my 12th great grandmother, and that Henry Carey was my 11th great grandfather - through my grandmothers side. I was even more surprised to find through tracing other steps that Catherine Carey is my 11th great grandmother through my grandfather's side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Boleyn

I just finished The Other Boleyn Girl and I loved it. I knew about Henry VIII’s six wives (there’s a rhyme for them, did you know? Divorced, beheaded, died/divorced, beheaded, survived) so I knew what happened to Anne, but it was still sad. It broke my heart that they killed Anne and George.

Anne is portrayed as this selfish, manipulative, cruel, and ambitious woman. Despite her downfalls – adopting Henry (Mary’s son, not the king), the murders, and the incest (that was plain uncomfortable) – I still loved Anne. She was strong and determined and she proved everyone wrong when she married Henry. Also, she worked to get there. She was always charming, always trying her hardest to come off as talented, witty, beautiful and effortlessly so.

Mary, on the other hand, is the sweeter, kinder sister who just wants to escape court life. I loved Mary because she was relatable. Her pain at being used as a pawn for her family, disgust at Henry’s selfishness, and longing for a normal life made her endearing. I loved watching her grow from this naive, trembling fourteen-year-old to a strong woman with a backbone (also, she and William were so cute. I loved their romance arc - Mary needed a man like that after Henry and all the things she endured).

I looked up Anne’s beheading on Wikipedia, and it said that Henry charged her with adultery, witchcraft, and incest and then ordered her execution. At first, I wondered why Gregory didn’t portray Anne as innocent of these charges, because at that point it would be easy to believe that Henry moved Anne aside because she couldn't provide him with an heir, just like Katherine of Aragon. The book says that Anne and George slept together, which led to her multiple miscarriages, so the adultery and incest Anne was guilty of (at least in this fictionalized world). Then I realized that by portraying Anne as she did, Gregory seemed to point out that the beheading was still wrong and sad even if Anne was guilty of all the charges.

George was a sweetheart. Again, the incest? Not so cool, but he was always the loving, supportive brother that Anne and Mary needed, and I loved all their late-night plotting. The three Boleyns were a united family in the middle of all the court drama.

Did you guys hate Anne? Who was your favorite character? What did you think of Gregory’s portrayal of this period?

Okay, so I once read historians aren’t sure who was older, but assume it was Mary. I’ve also heard the theory that Mary’s daughter was Henry VIII’s daughter. The most important thing is how they’ve been portrayed, though. How much is false? How much is true?