Mary Fiennes (1495–1531) was an English courtier. She was the wife of Henry Norris. Norris was executed for treason as one of the alleged lovers of her cousin, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England. Mary lived for six years at the French court as a Maid of Honour to queens consort Mary Tudor, wife of Louis XII; and Claude of France, wife of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

Family and early years

Mary was born at Herstmonceux Castle in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1495, the only daughter of

Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre (1472 – 9 September 1534) was an English peer and soldier, the son of Sir John Fiennes. Career He was born in 1472, the son of Sir John Fiennes (born c.1447, son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Dacre born 1415) ...

and

Anne Bourchier Anne Bourchier (1517 – 28 January 1571) was the ''suo jure'' Baron Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier, ''suo jure'' Lady Lovayne, and Baroness Parr of Kendal. She was the first wife of William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, Earl of Essex, a ...

. By both her father and mother she was descended from

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

. She had two younger brothers, Sir Thomas and John. Her mother was an elder half-sister of Elizabeth Howard and Lord Edmund Howard, making queen consorts Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard a cousin of Mary. Her paternal grandmother,

Alice FitzHugh Alice FitzHugh (c. 1448 – 10 July 1516) was the eldest daughter and co-heiress of Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron FitzHugh, and Lady Alice Neville. Alice was born at the ancestral castle of Ravensworth. She married Sir John Fiennes, the son of Sir Ri ...

, was sister to Elizabeth FitzHugh, grandmother of

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

, making her cousin to yet another queen consort of Henry VIII. In 1514, Mary was appointed a Maid of Honour to Princess Mary Tudor and accompanied her to France when the latter married King

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

; afterwards she served in the capacity to Queen Mary's successor,

Queen Claude Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524) was Queen of France by marriage to King Francis I. She was also ruling Duchess of Brittany from 1514 until her death in 1524. She was a daughter of King Louis XII of France and his second wif ...

, consort of the new king Francis I of France. Among her fellow Maids of Honour were her cousins, Mary (a mistress of Henry VIII) and Anne Boleyn.

Marriage and issue

In 1520 upon her return to England, she married the courtier, Henry Norreys (1491 – 17 May 1536) of

Yattendon Yattendon is a small village and civil parish northeast of Newbury in the county of Berkshire. The M4 motorway passes through the fields of the village which lie south and below the elevations of its cluster. The village is privately owned and ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, whom she had met that same year at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France. Norris served King Henry VIII of England as a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

, and was held in high favour by the King. He was later appointed

Groom of the Stool The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close stool, Close Stool") was the most intimate of an List of English monarchs, English monarch's courtiers, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene. The physica ...

and continued to enjoy the King's favour. According to biographer

Eric Ives Eric William Ives (12 July 1931 – 25 September 2012) was a British historian who was an expert on the Tudor period, and a university administrator. He was Emeritus Professor of English History at the University of Birmingham. Early life ...

, Norris was "perhaps the nearest thing Henry had to a friend." Norris had control of King Henry's Privy chamber. Henry and Mary had three children: * Edward Norris (died 1529) *

Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys {{Infobox noble, Baron , name = Henry Norris , title = Baron Norreys , image = Henry Norris 1st Baron Norris of Rycote.jpg , image_size = 240px , caption = Henry Norris, aged 60, 1585 , a ...

( – 1601), married Margaret Williams of Rycote, by whom he had issue. * Mary Norris, married firstly

Sir George Carew ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...

, and secondly Sir Arthur Champernowne, by whom she had issue.Colburn, Henry. ''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire,'' Volume 1. 1869. p
10Google eBook
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Death

Mary died in 1531, a year after her mother. Five years later her husband was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary ...

and executed for treason as one of the five alleged lovers of her cousin Queen Anne Boleyn, who herself was beheaded at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536. Their four orphaned children were raised by Norris's brother Sir John Norris.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiennes, Mary, Lady Norris Mary British maids of honour 1495 births 1531 deaths Daughters of barons 16th-century English women English ladies-in-waiting 15th-century English women 15th-century English people Norris family People from Herstmonceux People from Yattendon Court of Francis I of France