Sir Thomas Clere was a successful poet at the court of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. He is commemorated in several poems by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

Henry Howard, KG, , known as The Earl of Surrey although he never was a peer, was an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry.-Life:...

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

Mary Shelton

Margaret Shelton and Mary Shelton were two sisters in Tudor England, one of whom may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII....

, a former mistress of the King's, in 1545. He died on 14 April, 1545, before their love match could be made into a marriage.

Sir Thomas Clere was the third son of Sir Robert Clere (c.1493 - 10 August 1529) of Ormesby St. Margaret, Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, and his wife Alice

Alice Clere

Lady Alice Clere was the daughter of Sir William Boleyn and his wife Margaret Ormond , the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond...

, the daughter of Sir William Boleyn

William Boleyn

Sir William Boleyn was the son of Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, a wealthy mercer and Lord Mayor of London, and his wife, Anne Hoo...

 and his wife Margaret Ormond (otherwise Butler), daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond. Alice was the sister of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, KG was an English diplomat and politician in the Tudor era. He was born at the family home, Hever Castle, Kent, which had been purchased by his grandfather Geoffrey Boleyn, who was a wealthy mercer. He was buried at St. Peter's parish church in the village of...

, and the aunt of King Henry VIII's

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 second Queen, Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

. Sir Thomas Clere was thus Queen Anne Boleyn's first cousin.

Sir Thomas Clere was buried in the Church of St Mary at Lambeth in Surrey where his monumental brass can still be seen.