Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire

Elizabeth Boleyn, born Elizabeth Howard around 1480, was an English noblewoman and the mother of Anne Boleyn, who became Queen of England, and thus the maternal grandmother of Elizabeth I of England. She married Thomas Boleyn, and through this union, she was styled Viscountess Rochford, Countess of Ormond, and Countess of Wiltshire. Her noble birth as the eldest daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Tilney placed her in the upper echelons of English society. Elizabeth served as a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth of York and later to Catherine of Aragon. Her three surviving children were Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn, and George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford. Elizabeth was buried at St. Mary’s Church, Lambeth after her death on 3 April 1538.