George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford

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.

Contents 1 Early years and family 2 Early adulthood 3 Trial and execution 4 Styles 5 In popular culture 6 References

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 is 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 was not unknown for young men 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.^[1] There is some thought that Lord Rochford may have been homosexual.

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 would have inherited the Boleyn titles if this were the case.^[1] It is more likely that he was a distant cousin.

Trial and execution

In 1536, Henry wished to marry Jane Seymour, one of his wife's ladies in waiting. Anne was accused of adultery with five men, one of whom was her brother, George; this added to the seriousness of the charge of infidelity.

George stood trial a few hours after Anne on May 15, 1536. He was found guilty and beheaded on Tower Hill near the Tower of London on May 17, 1536. The charges are now generally accepted to have been fabricated. During the trial, damning evidence against him was given by way of a statement from his wife; it is unclear whether these were her words or they had been extracted by Thomas Cromwell as she did not appear in person.

George Boleyn's speech at the scaffold was primarily concerned with defending the New Learning which he had come to embrace in adulthood. He spoke passionately of the Scriptures and the evils of "the vanities of this world." According to the chronicler Charles Wriothesley, he said, 'Trust in God, and not in the vanities of the world, for if I had so done, I think I had been alive as ye be now.' Anne was beheaded two days later.

There is no surviving portrait of George Boleyn, and all likenesses are assumed to have been destroyed. 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 helped to ensure Anne's demise. Although they differ in their assessment of the matter, both historians reject the charge of incest.

Styles

• Mr George Boleyn (1504-1525)
• The Hon. George Boleyn (1525-1527)
• Viscount Rochford, by courtesy (1527-1536)

In popular culture

Portrayed by Steven MacKintosh in the 2003 television film version of The Other Boleyn Girl.

Portrayed by Jim Sturgess in the 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl based on the novel by Philippa Gregory.

Portrayed by Padraic Delaney in the television series The Tudors

References

Preceded by Sir Edward Guilford

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1534

Succeeded by The Duke of Richmond and Somerset

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