Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford

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Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (c. 1505 – February 13, 1542) was an English noblewoman who lived in the reign of Henry VIII. She was a sister-in-law of Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn and lady-in-waiting to his fifth wife Catherine Howard, with whom she was executed.

Contents 1 Early life and marriage 2 Later political intrigues 3 Downfall and execution 4 In historical works and fiction 5 In fiction 5.1 Media representations 6 References 7 Bibliography

[edit] Early life and marriage

Born Jane Parker, she was the daughter of Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley and Alice St John (the eldest daughter of Sir John St John). She was born in Norfolk England around the year 1505. In late 1524 or early 1525, she was married to George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, the brother of Anne Boleyn, later the second queen of King Henry VIII. As a wedding present, the King granted George the manor of Grimston in Norfolk.^[1] Although the two women were not overly fond of one another, Jane plotted with her sister-in-law Anne Boleyn to banish one of the King's young unnamed mistresses from Court in 1534. When the King discovered her involvement, Lady Rochford was exiled for a few months.

George Boleyn was arrested in May 1536 and imprisoned in the Tower of London, accused of having had sexual intercourse with his sister, the queen. It was Lady Rochford's supposed testimony which helped convict him of incest and treason, stating that she believed that he and his sister Anne had been involved in a sexual relationship since the winter of 1535. There was no proof in these rumours, but they provided the legal pretext which the Boleyns' enemies needed to send Lord Rochford to the block on May 17, 1536.

Jane's testimony may have been an act of malice. Jane's malice was likely due to her jealousy of Anne. 

The lands which the Boleyns had built up during Anne Boleyn's reign, including the title earl of Wiltshire were to pass through the male line only, and thus were lost to the family. Modern rumours that George Boleyn, dean of Lichfield, a colourful character, was their child are now thought to be false ^[2] also some historians believe this was or may have been the case.^[3]

It is not known if Jane truly condemned George or if Thomas Cromwell twisted her words into a statement he wanted. She did not appear as a witness at the trial. Queen Anne was executed two days later, accused of treason and adultery with four other men, Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton, a musician. She and George both protested their innocence before their deaths and Lady Rochford's involvement in their destruction earned her a notorious reputation.

[edit] Later political intrigues

Following her husband's execution, Lady Rochford was absent from court until she gained a place in the household of another of the king's wives, Anne of Cleves. Lady Rochford would later testify in July 1540 to aid the King's divorce from her, stating that his queen had confided in her that their marriage had never been consummated. This allowed the king to annul the marriage with Anne of Cleves and marry Catherine Howard.

Lady Rochford then became Lady of the Privy chamber to the new queen and exerted considerable influence over her. When the teenaged queen grew bored with her husband, it was Lady Rochford who helped organise secret meetings between queen Catherine and the handsome courtier Thomas Culpepper. Catherine Howard later confessed to having been unchaste before her marriage, however there is some doubt as to whether or not Catherine's relationship with Culpepper was sexually consummated.

[edit] Downfall and execution

When the King began his progress to the North of England in June 1541, Queen Catherine and Lady Rochford's indiscretions could no longer be hidden from the rest of the court. Protestant courtiers unearthed enough evidence to prove that the queen (subsequently executed by Henry for infidelity), had not been a virgin when she married the King in 1540, and they later discovered a love letter she had written to Culpepper which mentioned Lady Rochford as their go-between.

Lady Rochford was arrested and taken to the Tower, where she was interrogated for many months, but as she was an aristocrat she was not tortured. Under psychological pressure, however, she lost her sanity. The King had to order a new law which allowed the execution of the insane in order to have her condemned to death.

The French ambassador Marillac and Ottwell Johnson are the only two sources for her death.^[2] Marillac merely states that she gave a 'long discourse'; Johnson says that she apologised for her 'many sins' but never mentioned her late husband or sister-in-law. She was buried in the Tower of London along with Catherine Howard, and very close to the bodies of Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn.

[edit] In historical works and fiction

Historians have generally been highly critical of Lady Rochford. She is often condemned for her role in the downfall of her husband and sister-in-law. There is evidence to suggest that Lady Rochford was actively involved in her husband's downfall. This is disputed in the first biography dedicated to Jane, released in 2007, called Jane Boleyn: the Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox.

[edit] In fiction

Lady Rochford has appeared in numerous novels, especially those on Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Vengeance Is Mine by Brandy Purdy is written from Lady Rochford's viewpoint. She also features in Robin Maxwell's The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, Suzannah Dunn's The Queen of Subtleties and briefly in Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII. Jane's character is also mentioned in Wendy J. Dunn's Dear Heart, How Like You This? which is based on the life of the poet Thomas Wyatt. Rochford is a minor character in Sovereign, the third installment of C. J. Sansom's Shardlake series, set in 16th century England. A larger role is given to Lady Rochford in Jean Plaidy's novel The Rose Without a Thorn.

Jane appears in the historical novel The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, which tells the story of her other sister-in-law, Mary Boleyn. One of the sequels to The Other Boleyn Girl is The Boleyn Inheritance, which casts Lady Rochford as one of its lead characters. It details the final three years of her life and her involvement with Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.

[edit] Media representations

In the 1971 BBC series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Lady Rochford was played by Sheila Burrell. She appeared in four episodes; those on Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.

In the British 2-part television drama Henry VIII in 2003, Lady Rochford was played by British actress Kelly Hunter. She appeared opposite Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn, Emily Blunt as Catherine Howard and Dominic Maffian as George Boleyn.

In the film adaptation of Philippa Gregory's novel (The Other Boleyn Girl) Jane Boleyn (played by Juno Temple ) was a minor character.

Jane is also represented on season two of the Showtime series The Tudors.

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Fox, Julia. Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford. New York: Ballantine Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-345-48541-0

• Fox, Julia. Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2007. ISBN 978-0-297-85081-6