You May Have Royal Cousins!

What do you and Prince Harry and HRH Prince William have in common? The exciting possibility is that you and they are cousins, as well as cousins to both of their royal parents.

In the film The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Mary Boleyn is depicted as having had a five-year relationship as the mistress of Henry VIII, King of England, despite her marriage to William Carey, Gentleman of the Privy and Esquire of the Body of the King.  Carey was not allowed at court during the time of Mary’s affair with the King. The question concerning the paternity of Mary’s two children, William Carey (1st Baron Hunsden) and Dame Catherine Carey, by Henry VIII is raised by author Marston Watson in his book entitled Royal Families: Americans of Royal and Noble Ancestry. Volume Four: Pelham – Avery – West.

Descendants for Nine Generations of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr: The Possible American Progeny of King Henry VIII

Thousands of Americans share the same lineage to Mary Boleyn as the descendants of General George Washington’s half-brother, Augustine Washington, and Colonel John Dandridge, father of George Washington’s wife Martha Dandridge. Other notable kin include the progeny of Johannes Peter Rockefeller, Reverend Peter Bulkeley, and Pocahontas. The fourteen children of the two wives of American Revolution patriot Patrick Henry and their progenies can claim the same ancestry to Mary Boleyn.

Other Americans share the same lineage through their descendancy from Herbert Pelham of Massachusetts, the first Treasurer of Harvard College in 1643; Captain Thomas Avery of Connecticut; and three West brothers who were early governors of Virginia (Thomas, Francis & John), sons of Thomas West, 2nd Lord De La Warr. The prominent Armstead, Carter and Spotswood families of Virginia left descendants of Mary Boleyn as well.

Researchers will encounter these historic figures and more in Royal Families: Pelham-Avery-West. Marston’s nearly 900-page, well-researched and documented book begins with Thomas West, 2nd Lord De La Warr and his wife Lady Anne Knollys, daughter of Dame Catherine Carey and granddaughter of Mary Boleyn. The author’s 12th-generation lineage from Mary Boleyn is shared with HM Elizabeth II and Edward John Spencer, father of Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.

Marston’s book is filled with notable kin, as well as numerous Mayflower descendants of Mary Boleyn. Thousands of Americans, whose ancestors are identified in this significant publication, can claim their heritage to that other Boleyn girl, older sister of Anne Boleyn who, after Mary’s affair, became the second wife of Henry VIII.

This Pelham-Avery-West book is perhaps the most important work of author Marston Watson’s four volume series, of Royal Families: Americans of Royal and Noble Ancestry. For more information please click on the button below.