Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.

In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.

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Biography of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough 1679-1758

Paternal Family Tree: Ponsonby

Before 1679 [his father] William Ponsonby 1st Viscount Duncannon [aged 19] and [his mother] Mary Moore were married.

In 1679 Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough was born to [his father] William Ponsonby 1st Viscount Duncannon [aged 20] and [his mother] Mary Moore.

Before 1704 Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 24] and Sarah Margetson [aged 25] were married. They were second cousins.

In 1704 [his son] William Ponsonby 2nd Earl Bessborough was born to Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 25] and [his wife] Sarah Margetson [aged 25]. He married 5th July 1739 Caroline Cavendish Countess Bessborough, daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire and Catherine Hoskins Duchess Devonshire, and had issue.

On 29th March 1713 [his son] John Ponsonby was born to Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 34] and [his wife] Sarah Margetson [aged 35]. He married 1743 Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire and Catherine Hoskins Duchess Devonshire, and had issue.

On 26th May 1713 [his mother] Mary Moore died.

On 11th September 1721 [his father] William Ponsonby 1st Viscount Duncannon [aged 62] was created 1st Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny.

On 28th February 1723 [his father] William Ponsonby 1st Viscount Duncannon [aged 64] was created 1st Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford.

On 17th November 1724 [his father] William Ponsonby 1st Viscount Duncannon [aged 65] died. His son Brabazon [aged 45] succeeded 2nd Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 2nd Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.

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In 1727 [his son-in-law] Edward Moore 5th Earl Drogheda [aged 26] and Sarah Ponsonby were married. She the daughter of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 48] and Sarah Margetson [aged 48]. They were third cousins.

In May 1733 [his wife] Sarah Margetson [aged 55] died.

On 19th January 1737. Or 1736. [his daughter] Sarah Ponsonby died.

In 1738 Jean Etienne Liotard [aged 35] accompanied Lord Duncannon [aged 59] to Constantinople, where he worked for the next four years.

In 1739 Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 60] was created 1st Earl Bessborough.

On 5th July 1739 William Ponsonby 2nd Earl Bessborough [aged 35] and Caroline Cavendish Countess Bessborough [aged 20] were married. His younger brother John Ponsonby [aged 26] would marry her younger sister Elizabeth Cavendish [aged 13] four years later. She the daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire [aged 40] and Catherine Hoskins Duchess Devonshire [aged 40]. He the son of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 60] and Sarah Margetson.

In 1743 John Ponsonby [aged 29] and Elizabeth Cavendish [aged 17] were married. His elder brother William Ponsonby 2nd Earl Bessborough [aged 39] had married her elder sister Caroline Cavendish Countess Bessborough [aged 23] four years before. She the daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire [aged 44] and Catherine Hoskins Duchess Devonshire [aged 44]. He the son of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 64] and Sarah Margetson.

On 4th July 1758 Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough [aged 79] died. His son William [aged 54] succeeded 2nd Earl Bessborough, 3rd Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 3rd Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny. Caroline Cavendish Countess Bessborough [aged 39] by marriage Countess Bessborough.

[his daughter] Sarah Ponsonby was born to Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough and Sarah Margetson. She married 1727 her third cousin Edward Moore 5th Earl Drogheda and had issue.

Royal Ancestors of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough 1679-1758

Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 16 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 22 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 17 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings England: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 25 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 20 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Royal Descendants of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough 1679-1758
Number after indicates the number of unique routes of descent. Descendants of Kings and Queens not included.

Diana Spencer Princess Wales [1]

Ancestors of Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough 1679-1758

GrandFather: John Ponsonby

Father: William Ponsonby 1st Viscount Duncannon 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Folliott of Pirton Court

Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Folliott 1st Baron Folliott 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Lygon 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Lygon 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Greville

Great x 2 Grandmother: Katherine Lygon 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Denys

Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor Denys 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Berkeley 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

GrandMother: Elizabeth Folliot 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Strode of Stoke under Hampden

Great x 1 Grandmother: Anne Strode Countess Roscommon

Brabazon Ponsonby 1st Earl Bessborough 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Moore of Mellifont

Great x 2 Grandfather: Garret Moore 1st Viscount Moore of Drogheda

Great x 1 Grandfather: Charles Moore 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda

Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Colley of Carbury Castle

Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Colley Viscountess Moore and Wilmot

GrandFather: Randle Moore

Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Loftus of Swineside

Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Loftus

Great x 2 Grandfather: Adam Loftus 1st Viscount Loftus

Great x 1 Grandmother: Alice Loftus Viscountess Moore

Mother: Mary Moore