Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

English diplomat and politician of the Tudor era (1477-1539)

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Lived 1457–1539, aged 82

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31 languages
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Era
1457–1539
Aged 82

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People connected to Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

ChildMary Boleyn

ChildAnne Boleyn

ChildGeorge Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Thomas Boleyn rode Anne's marriage to Henry VIII into a peerage, collecting titles like Viscount Rochford and Earl of Wiltshire in the 1520s. His star rose sharply with his daughter's elevation—and would've fallen just as fast after her execution.

Biography

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Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormond, 1st Viscount Rochford KG, KB, of Hever Castle in Kent, was an English diplomat and politician. He was the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, and was thus the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I. By Henry VIII, he was made a Knight of the Garter in 1523 and was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Rochford in 1525, and in 1529, he was further ennobled as Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond.

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