 Evidence suggests that the Boleyn family treated Mary as the eldest child; in 1597, her grandson Lord Hunsdon claimed the earldom of Ormond on the grounds that he was the Boleyns' legitimate heir.Many ancient peerages can descend through female heirs, in the absence of an immediate male heir.If Anne had been the elder sister, the better claim to the title would have belonged to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I.