<![CDATA[
<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#FFFFFF" LINK="CRIMSON" VLINK="CRIMSON" ALINK="CRIMSON">
<basefont size="2"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="7">Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford</FONT>
<P>
Lady Jane Rochford served five of Henry VIII's wives - we know she was at court by 1522 at the latest, and she was at court for much of her life until her execution in 1542. She was significant in some measure in the fates of three of the five queens concerned; it is astonishing that a woman who had been a courtier for so long was foolish enough to become involved in the intrigues of 1541 which Jane probably orchestrated, encouraged or at the very least facilitated.
<P>
<FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Early Life</FONT>
<P>
Jane was the daughter of Henry Parker, Lord Morley. Morley was known as a man of letters, and would be seen as a conservative in religious affairs. We can see from a later inventory of her belongings that she was a lady of status and fashionable tastes. She married <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET="_parent">George Boleyn</A></B> in 1526; no children were acknowledged, though it is possible that a younger George Boleyn, who became Dean of Lichfield under <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/elizabeth/" TARGET="_parent">Elizabeth I</A></B>, may have been their son. There is no indication, either, that Jane shared the evangelical interests of her husband (or the Catholic piety of her father). The marriage seems to have been an unhappy one; a marriage which is terminated by testimony of incest by one of the partners can hardly have been content!
<P>
However, as a Boleyn by marriage, Jane's family and husband benefited from the rise of <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne Boleyn</A></B>. In 1529, by virtue of <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET="_parent">George's</A></B> title, Jane became Viscountess Rochford. Lady Rochford appeared beside <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne</A></B> in the masked dance performed in Calais for François I of France, and when <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne</A></B> became queen she was one of her ladies of the bedchamber. She acted in this period as an ally of the Boleyns, and in 1534 she was dismissed for a time for assisting <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne</A></B> in procuring the removal from Court of the (now unknown) "young lady whom the king has been accustomed to serve" - probably a courtly flirtation.
<P>
At some point in 1534-5, for reasons which are unclear, Jane turned against her sister-in-law. She went so far as to take part in a demonstration against <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne</A></B> by London citizens' wives in the summer of 1535 - she, along with the wife of Lord William Howard (<I>née</I> Katherine Boughton), was briefly sent to the Tower for this. Clearly, by this point Jane's attitude towards <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/">Anne</A></B> bore no relation whatsoever to that of her husband.
<P>
<FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">George and Anne Boleyn's Deaths</FONT>
<P>
When <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne Boleyn</A></B> fell in May 1536, the "evidence" for the charges of incest with <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET=_"parent">George</A></B> seem to have rested on Lady Rochford's testimony that the two were closeted together for a long time once and that she believed, on the basis of what she knew, that their familiarity went beyond that of brother and sister. She also told of Anne's alleged remarks "<I>que le Roy n'estait habile en cas de soy copuler avec femme, et qu'il n'avait ni vertu ni puissance</I>" - that the King was incapable of making love to his wife and that he had neither skill nor virility. <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET=_"parent">George Boleyn</A></B> himself is supposed, according to De Carles, to have said that "On the basis of only one woman you are willing to believe this great evil of me, and on the basis of her allegations you are deciding my judgment."
<P>
Jane had sent to ask after his welfare in the Tower, and had promised to "humbly suit" to the king on his behalf, but it is possible to read malice into this - the message was sent with the king's express permission, and was taken to her husband by Sir Nicholas Carew (a noted court conservative) and Sir Francis Bryan (who had recently turned coat against the Boleyns). Regardless, mercy was not offered to <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET=_"parent">George Boleyn</A></B> except for a commutation of the sentence to beheading; he was executed with an axe on 17 May 1536.
<P>
Although Jane's marriage was clearly an unhappy one, alleging incest against her husband and providing testimony which led to his execution still requires explanation. Contemporary observers opined that her decision related more to "jealousy and envy" than it did to love for the King - which certainly makes some sense given the absurdity of the charges. It may be that Jane was jealous of the closeness of the bond between <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET=_"parent">Anne</A></B> and <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET=_"parent">George</A></B>; this would fit neatly with the nature of the charge, as it centred precisely on the alleged nature of that bond. Given her father's future friendship with the Lady Mary and conservative religious views, a desire to assist Mary may have been part of the reason for Jane's actions. (The recent notion that Jane may have believed her husband capable of incest because of homosexual activity may be dismissed on the grounds of total lack of evidence.)
<P>
<FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS" SIZE="6">Widowhood</FONT>
<P>
Whatever the reasons for her involvement, Lady Rochford was rehabilitated very rapidly given her status as the widow of a man convicted of incest, adultery with the king's wife and conspiracy to murder him. Via Thomas Cromwell, she put pressure on her father-in-law <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/thomas" TARGET=_"parent">Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde</A></B>, to increase her allowance; this he did, albeit grudgingly (the reluctance is perhaps understandable!), despite her probable childlessness. She continued as lady of the bedchamber to Jane Seymour after <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne's</A></B> death, and bore the Lady Mary's train at Queen Jane's funeral on 12 November 1537.
<P>
She was a lady of the bedchamber to Anna of Cleves for her brief period of queenship, and she was instrumental (among others) in helping to bring about an annulment of the match. Along with the Countess of Rutland and Lady Edgecombe, it was she who had discovered Anna's lack of knowledge of what she should expect as a wife. Queen Anna said "Why, when he comes to bed he kisseth me, and taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me 'Good night, sweetheart'; and in the morning kisseth me and biddeth 'Farewell, darling.' . . . Is this not enough?" Her ladies proceeded to inform her further; and in July 1540, Lady Rochford amongst others would testify to this incident as evidence of non-consummation. She and others would also testify to Anna of Cleves' acceptance of the annulment. When <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn Howard</A></B> married Henry VIII, Lady Rochford was - once again - a lady of the bedchamber to the new queen.
<P>
<FONT FACE="Magik,Mistral,Comic Sans MS,Arial" SIZE="6">Katheryn Howard and Execution</FONT>
<P>
Jane became <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn's</A></B> chief confidante when the latter became queen. She proceeded to become involved - at exactly whose initiative remains unclear - in an astonishingly unwise undertaking; she assisted <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> in her amorous relationship with Thomas Culpeper. Whether the relationship became a fully sexual one is uncertain, but it is highly probable that it did.
<P>
The affair began at some point in the spring of 1541, most likely immediately after the king's illness in March. Lady Rochford was active in helping to arrange meetings; in her letter to Culpeper - the only one of the queen's which survives - <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> asked him to her when Jane was present, "for then I shall be latest at leisure to be at your commandment". Lady Rochford's ability to organise secret meetings became particularly clear during the 1541 royal progress to the north. Again, while it is not certain that <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> committed (full) adultery, it seems extremely likely; a series of clandestine meetngs, including until 2am out of her chamber and up the backstairs at Lincoln two nights running, admit for few other possibilities.
<P>
In November 1541, however, the storm broke as <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn's</A></B> pre-marital history came to light. Although Henry initially believed <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> to be innocent, and adultery was not alleged at this stage, he ordered the queen to be confined with Lady Rochford (not under suspicion as yet) until the matter was cleared up. <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> wept uncontrollably during this period, while Lady Rochford was seized with a "sudden madness". She was sent to the Tower when <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> was sent to Syon, on the basis that she knew more than she had so far divulged. When the claims of adultery arose, she only made weak protestations of innocence - which she soon abjured.
<P>
The Act of Attainder against <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn Howard</A></B> and Lady Rochford referred to the latter as "that bawd, the Lady Jane Rocheford." When it became clear to Jane that she would be executed for her part in the affair, she broke down - to the extent that the king sent his own physicians to establish whether she would be able to be an example by her execution.
<P>
Jane Rochford was executed on 13 February 1542, immediately after <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn Howard</A></B>; until the end, she remained "in a frenzy" according to Chapuys, the Imperial ambassador, and an Act was passed specifically to allow the execution of insane persons. She nonetheless recovered sufficiently to make an appropriate address to the crowd before the axe fell. Some claim that at her death, she said that "God has permitted me to suffer this shameful doom as punishment for having contributed to my husband's death. I falsely accused him of loving in an incestuous manner, his sister, Queen <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne Boleyn</A></B>. For this I deserve to die." Other accounts maintain that she made a conventional speech of confession and prayers for the king - far more likely given the conventions of Tudor executions.
<P>
The extent to which Jane was an intiator or organiser of the affairs is uncertain. <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn Howard's</A></B> account painted her as inciting her towards the affair. When, according to her, Culpeper refused to end their meetings, she claimed Lady Rochford said, "Little sweet fool ... Yet must you [<B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B>] give men leave to look, for they will look on you." Culpeper blamed her for "having much provoked him to love the queen". By contrast, Jane painted herself as something approaching an innocent bystander who had not realised what was happening in these meetings. None of the accounts seem plausible, and all of them have the ring of attempts to move responsibility onto someone - anyone - else. Judging by <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn Howard's</A></B> past history and by Culpeper's character, neither were in particular need of incitement by Jane. Equally, the notion that Jane Rochford found herself at the other end of the room where <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/relatives/howard/katheryn.html" TARGET="_parent">Katheryn</A></B> and Culpeper were meeting without realising what was happening lacks credibility. It seems likely that all parties were willing - and regardless of how blame should be apportioned, all three were involved in a venture which approached lunacy and which they should never have considered for one moment.
<P>
The mystery is why Lady Rochford should have involved herself in such an undertaking. Having helped to frame <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne Boleyn</A></B>, <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/george/" TARGET="_parent">George Boleyn</A></B>, and their supporters, she of all people knew the penalties for involvement in a queen's adultery. Marillac, the French ambassador, commented that "all her life [she] had the name to esteem her honour little and thus in her old age hath shown little amendment"; but this does not explain such a failure of judgment. Whether she believed that a besotted Henry VIII would fail to discover his wife's infidelities or believed (possibly on the basis of 1536 - though the lack of accusations against ladies in waiting of involvement with <B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/anne/" TARGET="_parent">Anne Boleyn's</A></B> pretended adultery is a powerful indication of the spurious nature of those charges) that she would not suffer for her mistress' adultery, her calculations failed her colossally.
<P>
<HR>
<P>
<B><A HREF="/boleynfamily/" TARGET="_parent">Home</A></B>
<P>
<FONT SIZE="1">Image of Jane Rochford, played by Sheila Burrell in <I>The Six Wives of Henry VIII © BBC.</FONT></FONT>
</BODY>]]>