William Carey portrait unveiled at Hever Castle

Comedian Josh Widdicombe, a descendant of William Carey, unveiled his portrait at Hever Castle

A rare portrait of William Carey, husband of Mary Boleyn, has been unveiled at Hever Castle in Kent.

Carey's portrait was revealed at the site in Edenbridge on Sunday by comedian Josh Widdicombe, a direct descendant of the Tudor courtier.

Widdicombe made the discovery of the connection in 2021 during an episode of BBC's Who Do you Think You Are?, when he visited the grounds.

Resident historian Dr Owen Emmerson said it was an "important moment in the history of the Boleyns", which allowed the couple to reunite for the first time in 500 years in portrait form.

"It's really special to be able to reunite husband and wife here at Hever, a place that's significant to the Boleyn bloodline," he said.

"To the best of our knowledge, these two portraits have not been hung together before."

The portrait was unveiled on the anniversary of William Carey's death on 22 June 1528

An enigmatic figure with little historical information detailed about him, Carey was best-known for his marriage to the Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn and known to history as a mistress of King Henry VIII.

Widdicombe returned to the castle to unveil the portrait of his 14-times great grandfather.

"It is a huge honour to be invited back to my family home to unveil this picture. Ever since Who Do You Think You Are? I've been presuming this day would come," he said.

William and Mary Boleyn married in 1520 and had two children - Catherine Carey and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon.

Henry VIII and Mary's sister, Anne Boleyn, were both present at the wedding.

As a courtier, Carey attended the royal court of a monarch and was a favourite of Henry VIII, who was also his third cousin.

Assistant curator Kate McCaffrey said: "Both Mary and William are not fully fleshed out three dimensional characters, they're both hard to grasp through history.

"However, it's wonderful to have their portraits together here at Hever Castle."