Biography

William Carey was "Henry VIII's cousin and an upwardly mobile member of his Privy Chamber." He married Mary Boleyn in 1520 and they had two children Catherine (Katherine) Carey Knollys and Henry Carey--however, it is thought by many historians that they were actually illegitimate children of King Henry VIII, whom Mary was having an affair with for several years, but they were never acknowledged as such. William Carey died in 1528 of the sweating sickness epidemic.