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Answer: It was a typical practice and served multiple purposes. Castles were cold and the tree springs provided insulation. They also were fragrant and masked bad odors, thought to repel insects and other vermin, and absorbed various spilled liquids and food. The practice was also unsanitary, as the branches were infrequently replaced and actually attracted bugs, mice, etc.

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Chosen answer: It is unknown who the older girl is, but probably the child of a close relative. In the movie (which significantly differs from the novel and from history), Mary is shown to only have given birth to one child (King Henry's son) before her marriage to William Stafford. Therefore, the girl could not be Mary's child by her first marriage.

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Answer: Mary does have two children, and I think the girl is supposed to be her daughter - her second child, who she had with her first husband, William Carey, after her affair with Henry ended. There is a script online which includes some deleted scenes. When King Henry becomes interested in Anne, Mary and William Carey return to their country life. They agree that her son from King Henry will bear the name Henry Carey, as if he were William's legitimate son. They have a daughter at some point. William Carey dies from an illness, and she later marries William Stafford.

Answer: The information on the corrections page is inaccurate. Mary Boleyn married William Carey in 1520. Because her exact birth date is unknown, no one knows how old she was when she married. It was shortly after her wedding that she began her affair with Henry VIII. It is also unknown if either of the two children she bore during this time were fathered by Henry, though there was certainly a high probability that he sired one or both. However, Henry never publicly acknowledged either child, unlike the illegitimate son he had with another mistress. The events in the film and book are fictional, and they vary from the historical facts. It is never mentioned in the film that Mary had a second child, either by Henry or William Carey.

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Answer: Of course they probably would have noticed, but Anne was desperate, thinking irrationally, and she would have done anything to regain Henry's favor and remain queen. She probably believed that if she became pregnant, it would be assumed that it must be the king's child. And if she could entice the king back into her bed, she could claim her earlier condition was a false pregnancy, but that she was now carrying the king's child.

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Answer: It's never explained. Historically, little is known about George and Jane Boleyn’s marriage, though it is believed it was not particularly happy. At that time upper-class marriages were usually arranged by families to provide their offspring with the most advantageous situation - socially, politically, financially, and so on. It mattered little if the two parties were in love, though it was assumed the couple would eventually learn to care about each other. A woman, who was considered her husband’s property, was expected to be a dutiful and faithful wife to her spouse, whose responsibility it was to provide for his family. George and Jane may simply have been incompatible, and as divorce was unacceptable then, they may simply have had to tolerate each other. Also, some historians have theorized that George Boleyn may have been either bi-sexual or homosexual, but there is no documented proof whatsoever that George was either. There is some evidence he may have been a womanizer, though having a mistress was hardly uncommon for someone in his station. Whatever their relationship, Jane’s testimony against her husband at his trial helped condemn him to death.

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Answer: Mary was married twice. Her first husband, William Carey, died in 1528. She secretly married William Stafford, a commoner, in 1534. Her family disapproved of the match, and the couple lived out their lives in the country, away from the royal court.

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