How many mistresses did Henry have?
We know of only three mistresses. Henry had an affair with Elizabeth Blount, a maid of honour to the Queen. Their son Henry Fitzroy (‘Fitzroy’ means illegitimate king’s son), later Duke of Richmond, was born in 1519 and was Henry VIII’s only recognised illegitimate child. He also had a brief affair with Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary Boleyn, who later became Mary Carey, in the 1520s. Finally, when Anne Boleyn was still Queen, Mary Shelton, Anne’s first cousin, became his mistress for about six months before Henry became interested in Jane Seymour.
