Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond (about 1477 - 12 March 1538/9), was born and buried at the family home, Hever Castle.

Through the connections of his extended family, he became one of Henry VIII's leading diplomats. Known missions were:

• 1512 : one of a party of 3 envoys to the Netherlands.
• 1518 - 1521 : Ambassador to France, where he was involved in arrangements for the "Field of Cloth of Gold" meeting between Henry and the new French king Frances I in 1520.
• 1521 and 1523 : Envoy to Charles, prince of Castile, the Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1527 : One of a large envoy to France
• 1529 : Envoy to a meeting of Charles, Holy Roman Emporor and Pope Clement VII, to seek support for the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon - perhaps not the best person to send when the Henry planned to marry Thomas's own daughter Anne. This was followed by another envoy to France.

In between, he sacrificed the members of his family to win favors from King Henry VIII: He garnered honors by letting the king dally with his elder daughter Mary, then marry his younger daughter Anne. It's possible his wife (Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Norfolk) had an affair with Henry, though Henry denied it.

Thomas was made earl of Ormond and Wiltshire on December 8 1529, probably due to Anne's relationship with the King.

Thomas acquiesced in the judicial murder of Anne and her brother George when the king discarded Anne in favor of Jane Seymour. The kindest assessment of him is that he was very much a product of the times.

See also

• Palace of Beaulieu