Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 12 minutes ago
Was Anne Boleyn older than her sister Mary Boleyn, or was the other Boleyn girl actually born first? In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling we look at what we know about the ages and birth years of Mary and Anne Boleyn, the mistress and the second wife of Henry VIII and a set of sisters that the world is still fascinated by today.
Both were the daughters of Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard and they were the sisters of this couple’s only other surviving child, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (by the way we’ll also look at when George Boleyn was born). Most historians think all three arrived in the world between 1499 and 1508, but the birth order of the girls has been hotly debated for centuries and this also affects what we think we know about their brother’s birth. We’ll look at what the primary sources tell us about how old each Boleyn was, based on when Mary and Austria went to Mechelen and France to serve in the courts of Margaret of Austria, Mary Tudor and Queen Claude of France, when Mary Boleyn got married, how old Anne Boleyn was when she died according to some near contemporary sources and the legal argument made by Mary’s descendant Lord Hunsdon during the reign of his cousin, Elizabeth I, which indicates that he believed his grandmother to be the elder sister. You’ll hear from original sources including what Thomas Boleyn said about his children, the writings of William Camden and the recollections of the Duchess of Feria, who worked for Mary I. You’ll also hear what top Tudor historians like Eric Ives and Retha Warnicke have made of the debate.
#MaryBoleyn #AnneBoleyn #GeorgeBoleyn #TheOtherBoleynGirl #BoleynSisters
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WHEN WAS ANNE BOLEYN BORN?
youtu.be/iA_9SM0UTyw
ANNE BOLEYN PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HsAlbXfzj7ifkvNyfxzXfo
HISTORICAL MYSTERIES PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0H723r8TXWbRIoTnpAX1CGk
WAS ANNE BOLEYN A WITCH WITH SIX FINGERS?
youtu.be/jD6tduQofIM
SUPPOSED HOLBEIN PORTRAITS OF THOMAS BOLEYN & GEORGE BOLEYN
youtu.be/alwd73M0tik
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Please note that all my audios are read by a real human only (that’s me!) and no AI is used unless otherwise stated.
Was Anne Boleyn older than her sister Mary Boleyn, or was the other Boleyn girl actually born first? In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling we look at what we know about the ages and birth years of Mary and Anne Boleyn, the mistress and the second wife of Henry VIII and a set of sisters that the world is still fascinated by today.
Both were the daughters of Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard and they were the sisters of this couple’s only other surviving child, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (by the way we’ll also look at when George Boleyn was born). Most historians think all three arrived in the world between 1499 and 1508, but the birth order of the girls has been hotly debated for centuries and this also affects what we think we know about their brother’s birth. We’ll look at what the primary sources tell us about how old each Boleyn was, based on when Mary and Austria went to Mechelen and France to serve in the courts of Margaret of Austria, Mary Tudor and Queen Claude of France, when Mary Boleyn got married, how old Anne Boleyn was when she died according to some near contemporary sources and the legal argument made by Mary’s descendant Lord Hunsdon during the reign of his cousin, Elizabeth I, which indicates that he believed his grandmother to be the elder sister. You’ll hear from original sources including what Thomas Boleyn said about his children, the writings of William Camden and the recollections of the Duchess of Feria, who worked for Mary I. You’ll also hear what top Tudor historians like Eric Ives and Retha Warnicke have made of the debate.
#MaryBoleyn #AnneBoleyn #GeorgeBoleyn #TheOtherBoleynGirl #BoleynSisters
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Join my mailing list (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
WHEN WAS ANNE BOLEYN BORN?
youtu.be/iA_9SM0UTyw
ANNE BOLEYN PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HsAlbXfzj7ifkvNyfxzXfo
HISTORICAL MYSTERIES PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0H723r8TXWbRIoTnpAX1CGk
WAS ANNE BOLEYN A WITCH WITH SIX FINGERS?
youtu.be/jD6tduQofIM
SUPPOSED HOLBEIN PORTRAITS OF THOMAS BOLEYN & GEORGE BOLEYN
youtu.be/alwd73M0tik
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Please note that all my audios are read by a real human only (that’s me!) and no AI is used unless otherwise stated.
