Everything about George Boleyn totally explained
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (c. 1504 –
May 17 1536) was the brother of
Anne Boleyn, the husband of
Jane Parker. He was convicted of incest with his sister, Anne, during the period of her trial for treason. They were both executed as a result.
Early years and family
George was the only son of leading diplomat
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and
Elizabeth Howard daughter of
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. He had two sisters,
Mary Boleyn and
Anne Boleyn. George was probably born in
Norfolk at his family's home of
Blickling Hall. It is believed he studied at the
University of Oxford, unlike his two sisters, who received their education abroad.
Early adulthood
Lord Rochford became a member of the
Privy chamber of
Henry VIII of England, and in December 1529 undertook his first assignment as a
diplomat, to
France. Because of his youth, it's believed that Anne's influence secured him this post. The French ambassador, du Bellay, commented that he was considerably younger than many of the other foreign diplomats. However,
Thomas Wyatt (b. 1503) had been sent to
Rome several years previously, so it wasn't unknown for a young person to be given such a post.
In 1524 or 1525 Lord Rochford married
Jane Parker daughter of Sir Henry Parker, Lord Morley and Alice St. John, daughter of Sir John St. John. There is some thought that Lord Rochford may have been
homosexual; however, his reputation as a womaniser would seem to suggest otherwise.
There is no mention of George and Jane Boleyn having any children. It has been thought that George Boleyn, Dean of Lichfield, may have been their son, yet he'd have inherited the Boleyn titles if this was the case.. It is more likely that he was a distant cousin.
Trial and execution
In 1536, Henry was married to
Jane Seymour, one of Anne Boleyn's
ladies in waiting. Anne was accused of adultery with five men, one of whom was her brother, George, which added the charge of incest to the accusation.
George stood trial a few hours after Anne on
May 15 1536. He was found guilty and beheaded on
Tower Green near the
Tower of London on
May 17 1536. The charges are now generally accepted to have been fabricated. Even at the time they were not widely believed and only repeated as fact by extremist Catholics in the next generation. In court, damning evidence against him was given by way of a statement from his wife; it's unclear whether these were her words or they'd been extracted from her by
Thomas Cromwell as she didn't appear in person to give evidence.
His speech at the
scaffold was primarily concerned with defending the
New Learning which he'd come to embrace in adulthood. He spoke passionately of the
Scriptures and the evils of "the vanities of this world." His sister was beheaded two days later, showing remarkable bravery and composure.
There is no surviving portrait of George Boleyn, and all likenesses are assumed to have been destroyed in 1536. His role in Anne's downfall has been the subject of some controversy in recent years, with
Eric Ives and
Retha Warnicke debating how the charge of
incest impacted the nature of Anne's demise. Although they differ in their assessments of the matter, both historians reject the charge as false.
Styles
- Mr George Boleyn (1504-1525)
- The Hon. George Boleyn (1525-1527)
- The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Rochford (1527-1536)
In popular culture
Portrayed by
Steven MacKintosh in the
2003 TV movie version of
The Other Boleyn Girl.
Portrayed by
Jim Sturgess in the
2008 movie
The Other Boleyn Girl based on the
novel by
Philippa Gregory.
Portrayed by
Padraic Delaney in the TV series
The TudorsFurther Information
Get more info on 'George Boleyn'.
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