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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Paternal Family Tree: Stanley
On 31st May 1825 [his father] Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby [aged 26] and [his mother] Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Derby. He the son of [his grandfather] Edward Smith-Stanley 13th Earl of Derby [aged 50] and [his grandmother] Charlotte Margaret Hornby Countess Derby.
On 15th January 1841 Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby was born to [his father] Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby [aged 41] and [his mother] Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby [aged 36].
On 30th June 1851 [his grandfather] Edward Smith-Stanley 13th Earl of Derby [aged 76] died. His son [his father] Edward [aged 52] succeeded 14th Earl Derby, 8th Baronet Stanley of Bickerstaffe.
On 31st May 1864 Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 23] and Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 24] were married. She the daughter of George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 64] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 54]. He the son of Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby [aged 65] and Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby [aged 59].
On 4th April 1865 [his son] Edward George Villiers Stanley 17th Earl of Derby was born to Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 24] and [his wife] Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 25] at 23 St James' Square. He married 5th January 1889 Alice Maude Olivia Montagu Countess Derby, daughter of William Drogo Montagu 7th Duke Manchester and Louisa Vonalten Duchess Devonshire and Manchester, and had issue.
On 23rd October 1869 [his father] Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby [aged 70] died. His son [his brother] Edward [aged 43] succeeded 15th Earl Derby, 9th Baronet Stanley of Bickerstaffe.
In 1870 [his brother] Edward Henry Stanley 15th Earl of Derby [aged 43] and [his sister-in-law] Mary Catherine Sackville-West Marchioness Salisbury [aged 45] were married. She by marriage Countess Derby. She the daughter of George Sackville-West 5th Earl De La Warr and Elizabeth Sackville Countess De La Warr [aged 74]. He the son of [his father] Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby and [his mother] Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby [aged 65].
On 27th June 1870 [his father-in-law] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 70] died. His son [his brother-in-law] Edward [aged 24] succeeded 5th Earl Clarendon, 5th Baron Hyde of Hindon in Wiltshire 1756.
In 1874 [his son] Algernon Francis Stanley was born to Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 32] and [his wife] Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 34]. He married in or before 1959 his sixth cousin Mary Cavendish Grosvenor, daughter of Hugh Lupus Grosvenor 1st Duke Westminster and Katherine Cavendish Duchess Westminster.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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On 26th April 1876 [his mother] Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby [aged 71] died.
On 6th September 1876 [his brother-in-law] Edward Villiers 5th Earl Clarendon [aged 30] and Caroline Elizabeth Agar Countess Clarendon [aged 19] were married at Harbridge, Someroy. She by marriage Countess Clarendon. She the daughter of James Charles Agar 3rd Earl Normanton [aged 57] and Caroline Susan Augusta Barrington Countess Normanton [aged 41]. He the son of [his father-in-law] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon and [his mother-in-law] Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon. They were sixth cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
In 1880 Edward Bootle Wibraham 1st Earl Lathom [aged 42] was created 1st Earl Lathom. [his sister-in-law] Alice Villiers Countess Lathom [aged 39] by marriage Countess Lathom.
On 5th January 1889 Edward George Villiers Stanley 17th Earl of Derby [aged 23] and Alice Maude Olivia Montagu Countess Derby [aged 26] were married. She the daughter of William Drogo Montagu 7th Duke Manchester [aged 65] and Louisa Vonalten Duchess Devonshire and Manchester [aged 56]. He the son of Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 47] and Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 49].
On 21st April 1893 Edward Henry Stanley 15th Earl of Derby [aged 66] died at Knowsley, Lancashire. His brother Frederick [aged 52] succeeded 16th Earl Derby, 10th Baronet Stanley of Bickerstaffe. Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 53] by marriage Countess Derby.
In 1897 [his sister-in-law] Alice Villiers Countess Lathom [aged 56] died.
In 1897 Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 55] was appointed 808th Knight of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom [aged 77].
On 14th June 1908 Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 67] died. His son Edward [aged 43] succeeded 17th Earl Derby, 11th Baronet Stanley of Bickerstaffe. Alice Maude Olivia Montagu Countess Derby [aged 45] by marriage Countess Derby.
The Times. 22nd June 1910. LORD ACHESON [aged 33] AND MISS CARTER [aged 22].
The marriage of Viscount Acheson, elder son of the Earl [aged 68] and Countess of Gosford [aged 54], and Miss Mildred Carter, only daughter of Mr. J. Ridgely Carter [aged 46], American Minister to Rumania, and Mrs. Ridgely Carter [aged 45], took place yesterday at St. George's, Hanover-square. The Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal (the Rev. Edgar Sheppard, D.D.) performed the ceremony, assisted by the Rev. David Anderson and other clergy, and Mr. Ridgely Carter gave his daughter away. She wore a very simple wedding gown of soft white satin with a long train draped with old point de Venise, and a Venetian lace cap over a spray of myrtle and orange blossom, covered by a plain tulle veil. Master David Stanley, Master Julian Ward, and Miss Diana Roberts, dressed all in white, followed the bride, and there were seven bridesmaids, Lady Theo Acheson [aged 28] (sister of the bridegroom), Lady Victoria Stanley, Mlle. Irene deo La Grange, Miss Canilla Morgan, the Hon. Rhoda Astley, Miss Elsie Nicholl, and Miss Marian Scranton, who wore white chiffon dresses with draped bodices and wreaths of myrtle beneath tulle veils. They also wore diamond neckislides and carried loose bunches of red roses. The Hon. Patrick Acheson [aged 26] was best man to his brother.
Mrs. Ridgely Carter afterwards held a large reception at Dorchester House (lent by the American Ambassador and Mrs. Whitelaw Reid), and among the many who came on from the church were the French, Russian, German, Spanish, and Italian Ambassadors, the Danish Minister, tho Rumanian Minister, the Swedish Minister and Countess Wrangel, Mme. Dominguez, the Servian Charge d'Affaires and Mme. Grouitel, the Chilian Minister and Mme. Gana, the Belgian Minister and Countess de Lalaing, the Duke [aged 63] and Duchess of Somerset [aged 57], Katharine Duchess of Westminster [aged 53] and Lady Helen Grosvenor [aged 22], Prince and Princess Alexis Dolgorouki, the Marquis and Marchioness of Hamilton, the Marchioness of Tweeddale, the Marquis [aged 48] and Marchioness of Salisbury [aged 42], the Marchioness of Anglesey [aged 26], the Countess of Powis [aged 45], the Earl [aged 56] and Countess of Chesterfield, the Countess of Kintore and Lady Hilda Keith-Falconer, the Earl and Countess of Gosford, Prince and Princess Frederick Liechtenstein, the Countess of Kimberley, Countess Grey, the Marquis d'Hautpoul, the Countess of Leicester [aged 54] and Lady Bridget Coke [aged 19], the Earl [aged 41] and Countess of Craven [aged 38], the Earl of Desart, Countess Fritz Hochberg, the Earl and Countess of Meath, the Countess of Bilmorey, the Countess of Londesborough [aged 49] and Lady Irene Denison [aged 19], the Earl and [his former wife] Countess of Derby [aged 70], the Earl [aged 51] and Countess of Yarborough, Ellen Lady Inchiquin and the Hon Lilah O'Brien, Lord and Lady Charles Beresford, Lord and Lady Leith of Fyvie, Lady Saltoun, Baroness Nunburnholme [aged 30], Baroness Newborough, Sir John and Lady Lister-Raye, Lord and Lady Monson, Lord and Baroness Savile, Lady Rothschild, Viscount and Viscountess AIdleton, Lady Alexander Paget, Lady Harcourt, Lady Desborough, Lord Suffield, Sir Herbert and Lady Jekyll and Miss Jekyll, the Hon. Sir Francis and Baroness Ufford and Miss Viliers, Lady Heien Vincent, Lord Knaresborough and the Hon. Helen Meysey-Thompson, Lady Pauncefote, Lord and Lady Weardale, Lady Grace Baring, Lord Strathcona, Lady Margaret Graham and Miss Graham, Sir Francis and Lady Channing, Mary Baroness Gerard, Baroness Manners and the Hon. Misses Manners, Lady Edward Cavendish, Mme. Langenbach, Lord Revelstoke, the Countess of Bessborough [aged 84] and Ladv Gweneth Ponsonby [aged 22], Lord Aberdare and the Hon. Eva Bruce, the Hon. Harry and Mrs. Lawson, Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Martin, Mrs. F. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Arthur James, Mrs. Walter Burns, Mrs. Lewis Harcourt, Mrs. Lowther and Miss Lokther, Mine. Vagliano, Captain and Mrs. Clonman, Miss Ralli, Mr. William Giuett, Mrs: Hwfa Williams, the Hon. Mrs. Derek Keppel, Mr. William Phillips, Mrs. Frank D'Arcy, the Hon. Lady Murray, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer Sassoon, Sir Bartle Frere, Mme. de Bille, Mrs. Featherstonhaugh, Mrs. Cotton Jodrell, Mrs. Frank Mackay, the Hon. Urs. Charles Lawrence, the Hon. Mrs. Rochfort Maguire, Lady Barrymore, Mrs. Chauncey, and Mrs. Ronalds.
Lord and Lady Acheson left later in the afternoon for the Continent, the bride travelling in a dress of grey chiffon and a large hat swathed in tulle to match the dress.
A list of the principal wedding presents was published in The Times yesterday.
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In 1922 [his former wife] Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 82] died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 25 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 31 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 19 Grand Son of Philip V King France I King Navarre
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 29 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Horton Stanley 4th Baronet 
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Stanley 11th Earl of Derby 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Patten
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Stanley "Lord Strange" 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Smith-Stanley 12th Earl of Derby 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Hugh Smith of Weald Hall Essex
Great x 2 Grandmother: Lucy Smith
GrandFather: Edward Smith-Stanley 13th Earl of Derby 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: James Hamilton Duke Hamilton, 1st Duke Brandon 
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: James Hamilton 5th Duke Hamilton 2nd Duke Brandon 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Gerard Duchess Brandon 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Hamilton 6th Duke Hamilton 3rd Duke Brandon 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Cochrane 4th Earl Dundonald 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Cochrane Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Hamilton Countess Derby 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Barnaby Gunning
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Gunning Duchess Hamilton and Argyll
Great x 4 Grandfather: Theobald Bourke
Great x 3 Grandmother: Bridget Bourke
Father: Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Geoffrey Hornby 
GrandMother: Charlotte Margaret Hornby Countess Derby
Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby 15 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England