George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford

George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (c. 1503 - May 17, 1536) was grandson to Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, son to Elizabeth Howard and leading diplomat Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, brother to Mary Boleyn and Anne Boleyn.

Early career

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. It is commonly believed that it was the influence of his older sister Anne which secured him this post, since the French ambassador, du Bellay, commented on how he was considerably younger than many of the other foreign diplomats. However, Thomas Wyatt (b. 1503) was sent to Rome several years previously and Lord Rochford's "great wit" was later praised in contemporary poetry. Dr. David Starkey has said that he had "some of Anne's talents and all of her pride."

He unhappily married Jane Parker. It is thought that Lord Rochford may have been homosexual, and that this may have been the cause of his unhappy marriage. However, this is only speculation and it is entirely possible that his marital unhappiness was simply due to a clash of personalities - after all, numerous members of the aristocracy were trapped in loveless marriages during this era. Furthermore, he also had a reputation as a womaniser which would seem to suggest his orientation was not homosexual.

Scandal, incest, execution

Lord Rochford was accused with four others of adultery with his sister, who had become the second queen of King Henry VIII. His father, Lord Wiltshire, was excused the burden of having to serve on the aristocratic jury against them and he went into exile.

Anne was accused of adultery with four other men, but it was the charge of incest that was largely considered to be the worst. Although sexual relations and even marriages between cousins, even first cousins, were common at the time and acceptable, relationships between siblings was not. His sister Anne may have had lovers, although this is certainly not proven, during her marriage to Henry VIII, it is highly unlikely her brother was one of them. However, damning evidence against him was a sworn statement from his wife, in which she stated that George and his sister Anne were involved sexually.

George stood trial only a few hours after her on May 15. He was found guilty and beheaded at the Tower of London on May 17. 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 extreme Catholics in the next generation.

His speech at the scaffold was primarily concerned with defending the Protestant religion which he had 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. In 1542, at her own execution due to her involvement in Queen Catherine Howard's extra-marital affair, his widow stated "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 Anne Boleyn. For this I deserve to die."

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 upon the nature of Anne's demise, and despite their disagreements, both historians reject the charge as false. However, regardless, their fate was likely set, and had they not been executed for that charge, their accusers would have found something else. George has also featured as a prominent character in the inaccurate but bestselling novel The Other Boleyn Girl.


Preceded by:
Sir Edward Guilford
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
1534
Succeeded by:
The Duke of Richmond and Somerset

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