Sir Thomas Clere (died 1545) was a successful poet at the court of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. He is commemorated in several poems by

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, KG (1516/1517–19 January 1547) was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person to have been executed at the insistence of King ...

, with whom he had a very close friendship. He was engaged to

Mary Shelton Mary Shelton (1510/15 – 1570/71) was one of the contributors to the Devonshire manuscript. Either she or her sister Madge Shelton may have been a mistress of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. Family Both Margaret and Mary were daught ...

, a former mistress of the King's, in 1545, but died before their love match could be made into a marriage. Thomas Clere was the third son of Sir Robert Clere (c.1493 - 10 August 1529) of Ormesby St. Margaret,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, and his wife

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, the daughter of Sir William Boleyn and his wife Margaret Ormond (otherwise Butler), daughter and co-heiress of

Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond PC (1426 – 3 August 1515) was the youngest son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. He was attainted, but restored by Henry VII's first Parliament in November 1485, and the statutes made at Westminster, b ...

. Alice was the sister of

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormond, 1st Viscount Rochford KG KB ( – 12 March 1539), of Hever Castle in Kent, was an English diplomat and politician who was the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, ...

, and the aunt of King Henry VIII's second Queen,

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. Sir Thomas Clere was thus Queen Anne Boleyn's first cousin. His mother Alice Clere died in 1538, and left the family estates to his older brother John Clere. She left Thomas "a salt of gold with a cover having a rose in the knop, and a pair of beads of gold" set with stones (a rosary) which had been gifts from

. Clere died on 14 April 1545 from wounds received at the siege of Montreuil in 1544, fighting for the

Earl of Surrey Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror. It is currently held as a subsidiary title by the Dukes of Norfo ...

. Thomas Clere was buried in the Church of St Mary at Lambeth in Surrey. In his will, he made a bequest to his cousin Mary Shelton. His monumental brass is currently in storage.Thomas Clere memorial, IWM
/ref> His nephew, Robert Clere was killed at the

battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

in 1547.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clere, Thomas 1545 deaths 16th-century English poets 16th-century English male writers 16th-century Royal Navy personnel 16th-century English knights Year of birth missing English male poets Burials at St Mary-at-Lambeth