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Primary sourceLetter14 August 1514

Thomas Boleyn's Letter to Margaret of Austria

Thomas Boleyn · 14 August 1514

A 1514 letter from Anne Boleyn's father asking Margaret of Austria to release his daughter from her household so she could return to England.

This letter from her father documents Anne Boleyn's childhood education at the Habsburg court before her return to England.

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Photograph of a handwritten letter on aged paper, in French and English script, with a decorative framed English title at top reading 'Original & very important holograph letter from Sir Thomas Boleyn (1477-1539) to Margaret of Austria'. Date 1514 Aug 14 appears at left. A handwritten signature is at bottom right, and a small framed French note sits at lower left.
Thomas Boleyn, letter to Margaret of Austria, 14 August 1514. Hever Castle.

About this source

What it is

This is a handwritten letter in French sent by Sir Thomas Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's father, to Margaret of Austria, regent of the Habsburg Netherlands. It was written from Greenwich in 1514. The letter is held at Hever Castle, the Boleyn family home.

Thomas Boleyn asks Margaret's permission for his daughter, referred to affectionately as 'la petite boulain', to leave her household and return to him, since Mary Tudor wished to have her nearby.

Why it matters

The letter shows that young Anne Boleyn was being educated at a European court, a mark of the Boleyn family's ambitions and connections. It reveals how aristocratic daughters were sent abroad to learn courtly manners and languages, shaping Anne into the sophisticated woman who later caught Henry VIII's attention.

Look closer

  • Why might a father write such a formal, polite letter to ask for his own daughter back?
  • What does the request tell us about how noble families used their children to build connections?
  • What is missing from this letter about Anne's own feelings or experiences?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ann Boleyn on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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