William Carey (Höfling)

William Carey (say 1490 - 1528) was the second son of Thomas Carey (1479-1536) of Chilton and Margaret Spencer. He was courtier and favourite of King Henry VIII of England. Carey was a noted art collector and he introduced the famed Dutch artist, Lucas van Horenbolte, to the Kingdom of England in the mid-1520s.

He was married to Lady Mary Boleyn in 1520. Shortly after their marriage, Mary became the mistress of King Henry. Teh affair lasted from about 1522 to 1526. Mary's son Henry Carey became a prominent courtier during the reign of his cousin and probable half-sister, Elizabeth I.

Anne Boleyn, Mary's younger sister, caught Henry's eye a year after his affair with Mary ended. Henry proposed marriage to her in 1527. William Carey did not live to enjoy his sister-in-law's prosperity, since he died of the sweating sickness in 1528. He died greatly in debt, and his wife was reduced to pawning her jewelery before Anne Boleyn arranged a small pension for her. At the time of William's death, Mary Boleyn was pregnant with their daughter - Catherine Carey.

Sources

• "The royal descent of Nelson and Wellington, from Edward the first, George Russell French, 1853, Page 28"
• "The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII, Retha Marvine Warnicke, 1984, Page 36"
• "The Baronetage of England: containing a genealogical and historical account of all the English, Edward Kimber, 1771, Page 221"