Anne Shelton (courtier)

For other people named Anne Boleyn, see Anne Boleyn (disambiguation).

Anne Shelton (née Boleyn)
Spouse	Sir John Shelton
Issue Margaret Shelton John, Lord Shelton Mary Shelton Ralph Shelton Thomas Shelton Anne Shelton
Father	Sir William Boleyn
Mother	Lady Margaret Butler
Born	(1475-11-28)28 November 1475 Blickling, Norfolk
Died

Anne Shelton née Boleyn (28 November 1475 – 6 January 1555) was the elder sister of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and an aunt of his daughter, Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.

Life

Anne was born at Blickling, Norfolk, the daughter of Sir William Boleyn and his wife, Lady Margaret Butler. She married Sir John Shelton before 1503.

In 1533 she and her sister, Lady Alice Clere, were placed in charge of the household of the King's daughter, Princess Mary. There is some evidence that Lady Shelton was harsh towards the young Mary, often taunting her with Elizabeth's higher status, but it is widely believed that she never resorted to actually hitting the young girl to chastise her. She received letters from Queen Anne criticising Mary.

By July 1536 Sir John Shelton was controller of the household established for Princess Mary and Queen Anne Boleyn's daughter, Princess Elizabeth. In the same year five women were appointed to serve Queen Anne while she was imprisoned in the Tower and to report to Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower, and through him to the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, all that the Queen said. These women included Lady Shelton, who had perhaps fallen out with Queen Anne during Henry VIII's affair with Anne's first cousin, Lady Shelton's daughter Mary Shelton. The other women to attend Anne were Sir William Kingston's wife, Lady Mary Kingston; Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, Queen Anne's aunt by marriage; Lady Margaret Coffin, the wife of Queen Anne's Master of the Horse; and Elizabeth Stoner, wife of the King's Serjeant-at-Arms. Sir William Kingston described the five as "honest and good women", but Queen Anne said that it was "a great unkindness in the King to set such about me as I have never loved". Shelton may have been sent by Cromwell to spy on the Queen. It is also possible She was motivated by the appalling treatment her daughter Madge Shelton had suffered in a brief affair with King Henry. She had been manoeuvred into his path by Queen Anne and her court faction. Lady Shelton might have sought revenge. Moreover her son, John Shelton was married to Margery Parker, whose sister Jane Rochford, had complained about her husband's incest with Queen Anne. Lady Shelton seems to have had no compunction at 'shopping' her to Cromwell. Other members of the Boleyn family, such as Sir James, had already abandonned the Queen, in his case Princess Mary's household, rather than await the inevitable destruction of their faction. When in 1536 the Queen was arrested and taken to the Tower, Lady Shelton was dismissed from her service. Four days later Anne Boleyn was executed. Historians have debated as to whether Lady Shelton and Mrs Coffin were still in her service; and whether she was one of the 'four young ladies' said to attend and escort Anne to the scaffold.

When Princess Elizabeth was so persecuted during her [sister Queen Mary's] reign, she fled to Sir John and Lady Shelton for protection. She was later secreted in the tower of Shelton Church when Sir John's mansion was not sufficient protection. When Elizabeth was crowned she summoned Sir John's family to the Palace where his descendants lived during her reign.

Sir John Shelton died on 21 December 1539 at the age of 62, and was buried in the chancel of Shelton church. He was said to have been "a man of great possessions", which he sought to pass on to his heirs contrary to the Statute of Uses. When the stratagem came to light after Shelton's death, the lawyers involved were punished, and an Act of Parliament was passed annulling such "crafty conveyances".

Shelton had at least six children. His son and heir, Sir John Shelton (b. in or before 1503, d. 1558), married Margaret, the daughter of Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley. His daughter, Madge Shelton, is said to have been a mistress of King Henry VIII. Lady Shelton's will was proved by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 1st June 1556.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Margaret	unknown	bef.11 Sep 1583	married Thomas Wodehouse (or Woodhouse)
John Shelton	1500	November 1558	22nd Lord of Shelton, married Margaret Parker, older sister to Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford
Mary	unknown	8 Jan 1570/1	firstly married Sir Anthony Heveningham; secondly married Philip Appleyard; mistress of Henry VIII during 1535
Ralph Shelton	unknown	26 Sep 1561	married Amy Wodehouse or Woodhouse (sister of Thomas, who married Margaret Shelton)
Thomas Shelton	unknown	aft 1579	married Anne Appleyard
Anne Shelton	c.1505	1563	firstly married Edmund Knyvet; secondly married Christopher Coote, Esq.
Gabriella Shelton	unknown	Oct 1558	died without issue
Elizabeth Shelton	unknown	aft 1561	died without issue
Amy Shelton	unknown	November 1579	died without issue
Emma	unknown	aft.1556	died without issue.

Footnotes

Secondary sources