S Butler and S Hibbs Family History Our Family's Journey Through Time

Lady Catherine Boleyn Carey

Female 1524 - 1568  (43 years)

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  • Name Catherine Boleyn Carey
    Title Lady
    Birth Jun 1524  Greater London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female
    Findagrave.com See Notes 
    Death 15 Jan 1568  Greater London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial Westminster, Greater London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Westminster Abbey -- Plot: St Edmund's Chapel
    Person ID I1405  Butler Family Tree
    Last Modified 6 Jun 2026

    Father William Carey,   b. Between 1489 and 1495, Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 Jun 1528, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 39 years)
    Relationship natural
    Mother Mary Boleyn,   b. 1499, Blickling, Broadland District, Norfolk, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 19 Jul 1543, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 44 years)
    Relationship natural
    Marriage Between 1519 and 1524  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F496  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sir Francis Knollys,   b. 1514, Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 19 Jul 1596, Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 82 years)
    Marriage Bef 19 Jul 1555 
    Children 
     1. Francis Knollys,   b. 1552   d. 1648 (Age 96 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     2. Thomas Knollys,   b. 1554   d. 1596 (Age 42 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     3. Maud Knollys,   b. 1548   d. 1549 (Age 1 year)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     4. Elizabeth Knollys,   b. 1549   d. 1601 (Age 52 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     5. Dudley Knollys,   b. 1562   d. 1662 (Age 100 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     6. Margaret Knollys,   b. 1564  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     7. Catherine Knollys,   b. 1559   d. 1632 (Age 73 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     8. Cecilia Knollys,   b. 1560  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     9. Henry Knollys,   b. 1542   d. 1592 (Age 50 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     10. Lettice Knollys,   b. 1543   d. 1634 (Age 91 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     11. Anne Knollys,   b. 19 Jul 1555, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 30 Aug 1608, Wherwell, Test Valley Borough, Hampshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 53 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     12. Mary Knollys,   b. 1541   d. 1593 (Age 52 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     13. Robert Knollys,   b. 1547   d. 1580 (Age 33 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     14. Richard Knollys,   b. 1548   d. 1596 (Age 48 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     15. William Knollys,   b. 1544   d. 25 May 1632 (Age 88 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     16. Edward Knollys,   b. 1546   d. 1580 (Age 34 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
    Family ID F449  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 6 Jun 2026

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - Jun 1524 - Greater London, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 15 Jan 1568 - Greater London, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Westminster, Greater London, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 


    • - ** See Misc-Docs-Pics/West/Genesis of United States
      - 1st cousin to Queen Elizabeth

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      found at findagrave.com

      Lady Catherine Carey Knollys

      Birth: Jun., 1524
      Greater London, England
      Death: Jan. 15, 1568
      Greater London, England

      Catherine was my 12th great grandmother.
      Catherine was born at Hampton Court Palace in London, England. She was the daughter of Lady Mary Boleyn and supposedly the illegitimate Daughter of King Henry VIII.

      It was never proven whether she was the Daughter of King Henry VII, but in recent times several historians have suggested and have come up with evidence supporting that theory:

      The circumstantial case presented for the Careys being children of Henry VIII is founded on consideration of the following:

      Royal grants from Henry VIII to William Carey delineate the period of the king's affair with Mary (Boleyn) Carey: from at least February 1522 to May 1526.4
      Catherine Carey, Mary (Boleyn) Carey's daughter, was born in about 1524, not (as has been thought) in about 1530.
      Henry Carey was called "the Kynge's son" in a contemporary (1535) source.
      Evidence of the non-sexual marriage of William and Mary (Boleyn) Carey.
      The "paternal" interest shown by Henry VIII in Catherine and Henry Carey as well as the extraordinary favor shown them by Elizabeth I.
      The significance of the name "Hunsdon" as used by Henry Carey.
      Reasons the Careys' royal paternity would never have been acknowledged.

      Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys was born in the midst of her mother's affair with Henry VIII.31

      That Henry VIII sought to provide for Catherine Carey is clear. Again, in about November 1539, at about the age of 15 and despite the Boleyn's fall from favour in 1536, Catherine Carey was appointed a maid of honor to Anne of Cleves. This fact is quite striking since in 1539 there would have been no known reason for the preferment of this insignificant niece of the fallen Queen Anne Boleyn. In fact, a close study of the State Papers and other records reveals the fact that the family of the Boleyns (or Bullens) suffered constant persecution and spoliation at the hands of Henry VIII, and afterwards of Elizabeth. By April/May 1540, she was married to (later: Sir) Francis Knollys, born by 1512, died 19 July 1596.33 With his marriage to Catherine Carey in 1540, Francis Knollys was created Gentleman Pensioner, his first royal appointment. Also upon their marriage, there was assurance of the manor of Rotherfield Grey, Oxon, to Fras. Knolles, Esq., and Katharine his wife" by Act of Parliament in April/May 1540.34

      Catherine was Maid of Honour to Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard. She was later lady-in-waiting to her cousin or possibly half sister, Elizabeth I.

      In 1539, she was married to Sir Francis Knollys. Her husband was named a Knight of the Garter in 1593, but he had been knighted in 1547. From that date, Catherine became known as Lady Knollys. They had a total of twelve children:

      Lettice Knollys (c. 1540 - 25 December, 1634). She married first Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, secondly Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and thirdly Sir Christopher Blount.
      Sir Henry Knollys (c. 1542 - 1583). He was a Member of Parliament representing first Shoreham, Kent (1563) and then Oxfordshire. Esquire of the Body to Elizabeth I. He was married to Margaret Cave (1549 - 1600), daughter of Sir Ambrose Cave and Margaret Willington.
      Elizabeth Knollys. She married Sir Thomas Leighton, son of John Leighton of Watlesburgh and Joyce Sutton, in 1578. Her husband served as governor of Jersey.
      William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury (c. 1544 - 25 May, 1632). He was married first to Dorothy Bray and secondly to Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and his second wife Catherine Knyvett.
      Edward Knollys (1546 - 1580). He was a Member of Parliament.
      Sir Robert Knollys (1547 - 1626). Member of Parliament representing Reading, Berkshire (1572 - 1589), Brecknockshire (1589 - 1604), Abingdon, Oxfordshire (1604, 1624 - 1625) and finally Berkshire (1626). He married Catherine Vaughan, daughter of Sir Rowland Vaughan of Porthamel.
      Richard Knollys (1548 - 21 August, 1596). Member of Parliament representing first Wallingford (1584) and then Northampton (1588). Married Joan Heigham, daughter of John Heigham of Cliffords.
      Sir Thomas Knollys (d. 1596). Better known for service in the Eighty Years' War (1568 - 1648). Governor of Ostend in 1586. Married Odelia de Morana, daughter of John de Morada, Marquess of Bergen.
      Sir Francis Knollys "the Young" (c. 1552 - 1643). Member of Parliament representing first Oxford (1572 - 1588) and then Berkshire (1597, 1625). Married Lettice Barrett, daughter of John Barrett of Hanham. Father-in-law of John Hampden.
      Anne Knollys (c. 1553 - last reported alive 30 August , 1608). Married Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr. Mother to Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr.
      Catherine Knollys (c. 1560 - 20 December, 1620). Married first Gerald Fitzgerald, Baron Offaley and secondly Sir Phillip Butler of Watton Woodhall, a possible descendant of James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde.
      Cecily Knollys. No known descendants.

      Lady Knollys passed away on January 15, 1568 at Hampton Court Palace and was given what can only be described as a "royal" funeral by the bereaved Queen Elizabeth I. The opulent funeral accorded Lady Knollys by the queen (who paid £640 for it, under the Privy Seal) was overseen by the Earl Marshal the Duke of Norfolk and the Lord Treasurer the Earl of Leicester, Lady Knollys's funeral documents at Westminster Abbey were found with those of King Henry III, King Henry VI, Queen Mary II, King William III, Prince George of Denmark, Queen Anne, and Queen Caroline. The only non-royal person in this group was Lady Knollys.
      Catherine Knollys was buried in April 1568 in St. Edmund's Chapel, Westminster Abbey at the queen's expense.

      Family links:
      Parents:
      Mary Boleyn Stafford (1501 - 1543)

      Spouse:
      Francis Knollys (1514 - 1596)

      Children:
      Lettice Knollys Dudley (1539 - 1634)*
      Henry Knollys (1542 - 1582)*
      William Knollys (1547 - 1632)*
      Anne Knollys West (1555 - 1608)*

      *Calculated relationship

      Burial:
      Westminster Abbey
      Westminster
      Greater London, England
      Plot: St. Edmund's Chapel

      Created by: Ryan Curtis
      Record added: Nov 03, 2007
      Find A Grave Memorial# 22630874
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