The match was a triumph for the Boleyn family as Mary was a former member of the Queen's household, and a staunch advocate of reform. It was also a very advantageous match for Mary as with no legitimate male heir to the throne the Duke was seen at the time as a likely future King. However, the marriage was not to last as FitzRoy died of consumption within three years. He had barely turned seventeen.
Fearful that too much sexual activity had hastened his elder brother Arthur's death, the King had ordered the couple not to consummate their marriage; which was probably not obeyed. As a result the Duchess was not allowed to keep many of the lands which would normally have been her entitlement as widow: the King insisted without the consummation it was not a true marriage.