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: Cavendish
In or before 1505 [his father] Thomas Cavendish [aged 32] and [his mother] Alice Smith [aged 26] were married.
Around 1505 William Cavendish was born to [his father] Thomas Cavendish [aged 33] and [his mother] Alice Smith [aged 27].
On 12th November 1515 [his mother] Alice Smith [aged 37] died.
In 1524 William Cavendish [aged 19] and Margaret Bostock [aged 16] were married.
On 13th April 1524 [his father] Thomas Cavendish [aged 52] died.
In 1535 [his daughter] Catherine Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 30] and [his wife] Margaret Bostock [aged 27]. She married before 1578 Thomas Brooke, son of George Brooke 9th Baron Cobham and Anne Braye Baroness Cobham.
On 16th June 1540 [his wife] Margaret Bostock [aged 32] died.
In 1542 William Cavendish [aged 37] and Elizabeth Parker were married. They had three children, none of which survived to adulthood.
In 1543 Robert Barlow aka Barley [aged 14] and [his future wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 16] were married.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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In 1546 [his wife] Elizabeth Parker died in childbirth.
On 20th August 1547 William Cavendish [aged 42] and Bess of Hardwick [aged 20] were married. The difference in their ages was 22 years.
On 18th June 1548 [his daughter] Frances Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 43] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 21]. She married before 1584 her sixth cousin Henry Pierrepont and had issue.
In 1549 the Leche family sold Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map] to William Cavendish [aged 44]. His wife Bess of Hardwick [aged 22] had persuraded him to sell his ancestral lands around Cavendish, Suffolk [Map] and buy land around her ancestral lands.
On 10th June 1549 [his daughter] Temperance Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 44] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 22]. She died a year later.
Around 1550 John "The Elder" Bettes [aged 19]. Portrait of William Cavendish [aged 45].
In 1550 [his daughter] Temperance Cavendish died.
On 17th December 1550 [his son] Henry Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 45] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 23]. He married 9th February 1568 his sixth cousin Grace Talbot, daughter of George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Gertrude Manners Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford.
On 27th December 1552 [his son] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire was born to William Cavendish [aged 47] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 25]. He married (1) 21st March 1580 Anne Keighley and had issue (2) after 1603 Elizabeth Boughton Countess Devonshire and had issue.
In 1553 William Cavendish [aged 48] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 26] commissioned the building of a new house [Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map]]. She selected a site near the river, which was drained by digging a series of reservoirs, which doubled as fish ponds.
On 28th November 1553 [his son] Charles Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 48] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 26]. He married before 6th December 1592 Catherine Ogle 8th Baroness Ogle, daughter of Cuthbert Ogle 7th Baron Ogle and Catherine Carnaby Baroness Ogle, and had issue.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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On 31st March 1555 [his daughter] Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Lennox was born to William Cavendish [aged 50] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 28] at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map]. She married 1574 Charles Stewart 5th Earl Lennox, son of Matthew Stewart 4th Earl Lennox and Margaret Douglas Countess Lennox, and had issue.
In January 1556 [his daughter] Mary Cavendish Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford and Lucrece Cavendish were born to William Cavendish [aged 51] and Bess of Hardwick [aged 29].
On 25th October 1557 William Cavendish [aged 52] died.
Around 27th August 1559 William St Lo [aged 41] and [his former wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 32] were married. They were half third cousin twice removed.
In the 1560s Chatsworth House [Map] was completed following the death of William Cavendish.
On 6th February 1568 [his son-in-law] Gilbert Talbot 7th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 15] and Mary Cavendish Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 12] were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 41]. He the son of George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 40] and Gertrude Manners Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford. They were sixth cousins.
Three days later on Gilbert and Mary would become step-siblings when their father and mother respectively George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Bess of Hardwick were married. She by marriage Countess of Shrewsbury Countess Waterford. It is likely the latter marriage a condition of the former. He the son of Francis Talbot 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Dacre. They were fifth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England.
On 13th February 1608 [his former wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 81] died. She was buried in All Saints Church, Derby [Map]. Her monument, which she had constructed before her death, was designed by Robert Smythson [aged 38]. She left nothing in her will for her 'bad son' Henry Cavendish [aged 57]. He did, however, inherit Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map] which he subsequently sold in 1609 to his brother William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire [aged 55] for £10,000.
The date of her funeral somewhat complicated. Rawsons 1910 book "Bess of Hardwick and her Circle" quotes Simpson's National Records of Derby for 1608: "The old Countess of Shrewsbury died about Candlemas this year, whose funeral was about Holy Thursday. A great frost this year. The witches of Bakewell hanged." Holy Thursday, the Feast of the Ascension, is thirty-nine days after Easter. Easter in 1608 was on the 6th of April, putting Holy Thursday on the 15th of May.
Ethel Carleton Williams "Bess of Hardwick", 1959, has a note: "9. The date of Bess of Hardwick's funeral is uncertain. The date on the coffin plate is said to be February 1608 (Cox and Hope, Chronicles of the Collegiate Church of All Saints, Derby), but on 31 March 1608 Gilbert Talbot wrote to Robert Cecil, excusing himself for not attending St George's Feast on the ground that his mother-in-law's funeral was to be on St George's Day (23 April). Later, on 3rd of April, the Earl of Arundel wrote to Gilbert (his father-in-law), 'the funeral at Derby is appointed to be either on the fourth or fifth of May, which Garter yet knoweth not, but rather thinketh on the fourth because the other is a holy day'".
Neither of which provide a definite answer. The former being around the 15th of May, the latter 'rather thinketh' the 4th of May. Are there any other contemporary sources available?
On 19th March 1616 [his son-in-law] Henry Pierrepont [aged 70] died. Church of St Edmund, Holme Pierrepoint [Map]. Designed by John Smythson. Probably carved by Hugh Hall who also carved the monument to Thomas Smith originally at Wybynbury but since moved to Nantwich [Map]. Elizabethan Period. Armorials:
Top left 
Cavendish Arms - he was married to Frances Cavendish [aged 67] daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.
Top right 
Pierrepoint Arms.
Centre Bottom: Quartered 1&4 Pierrepoint Arms 2&3 Unknown Arms impaled Quartered 1&4 Cavendish Arms 2&3 Unknown Arms.
Frances Cavendish: On 18th June 1548 she was born to William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick. Before 1584 Henry Pierrepont and she were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford. They were sixth cousins. In January 1632 Frances Cavendish died.
[his daughter] Anne Cavendish was born to William Cavendish and Margaret Bostock. She married 1561 Henry Bayntun.
Kings Wessex: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 10 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 16 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 11 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 7 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 14 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 21 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 15 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 19 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Cavendish
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Cavendish
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Cavendish
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Odingsells
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Odingsells
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Cavendish
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Clopton
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Clopton
Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Clopton
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Grey 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Ivetta Grey
Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Bayles
GrandFather: Thomas Cavendish
Great x 1 Grandmother: Joan Staventon
Father: Thomas Cavendish 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Scudamore
GrandMother: Catherine Scudamore 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Gruffydd Mathrafal
Great x 3 Grandfather: Gruffudd Fychan II Mathrafal
Great x 2 Grandfather: Owain ap Gruffudd "Glyndŵr" Mathrafal Prince Powys 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas ap Llywelyn Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elen 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alys Mathrafal 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: David Hamner
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Hamner
William Cavendish 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: John Carrington Smith
Mother: Alice Smith