James Bassett was born in 1526 to Honor Grenville

Honor Plantagenet, Viscountess Lisle

Honor Grenville was an English lady-in-waiting during the reign of Henry VIII. Honor was the daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville of Stowe in Kilkhampton, Cornwall and his wife Isabella. She was the wife first of Sir John Bassett of Umberleigh, Devon and then second wife of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st...

 and Sir John Bassett

Sir John Bassett

Sir John Basset of Umberleigh in Devon and Tehidy in Cornwall, was a courtier in the reign of Henry VIII. He was married twice; firstly to Ann Denys, daughter of John Denys and secondly to Honor Grenville...

, as the youngest son. When his father died, his mother became remarried to Arthur Plantagenet, Henry VIII's uncle. James then moved to Calais

Calais

Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....

 with his mother and stepfather.

His sister, Anne Bassett

Anne Bassett

Anne Bassett was an English courtier of the Tudor period, whose charms attracted the attention of King Henry VIII.-Family background:Anne was born in 1521, the fourth child of Sir John Bassett and Honor...

, was allegedly considered as a wife of Henry VIII and may have been one of his mistresses.