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Mary Boleyn: The King's Concubine by martykate
Fandoms: The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), The Tudors (TV)
16 Aug 2023
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Summary
Mary Boleyn was the older of the two Boleyn girls, daughters of the up-and-coming Thomas Boleyn. He was able to obtain a position for her in the court of Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, when she was to be sent to France to be married to the ill and elderly Louis XII of France.
Mary Boleyn found herself caught up in the glitter and glamour of the French court. Alone and unprotected, she fell prey to the charms of the handsome but corrupt Francis Valois, Louis's heir. She became his mistress, unaware of the consequences.
Francis used her and broke her heart, in the meantime, gossip made its way across the channel and word of his daughter's conduct reached the ears of Sir Thomas. He hurried back to France to fetch his errant daughter and wondered how to deal with her disgrace.
He arranged a marriage for her with William Carey, a second son but a favorite of King Henry. His good looks appealed to Mary and she decided to make the best of it. She and Carey were married in the King's Chapel and Henry himself made an appearance at their wedding.
The unwilling Mary drew Henry's attention and her family sees her as a means to advance themselves and pushed her into becoming Henry's mistress.