Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (; – 13 February 1542) was an English noblewoman. Her husband, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. Jane had been a member of the household of Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. It is possible that she played a role in the verdicts against, and subsequent executions of, her husband and Anne Boleyn. She was later a lady-in-waiting to Henry's third and fourth wives, and then to his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, with whom she was executed.
Early life
Born Jane Parker, she was the daughter of Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley, and Alice St John, great-granddaughter of Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso. Through Margaret, Jane was a distant relation of King Henry VIII — specifically his half-second-cousin – and this, in turn, made her a second cousin once removed of all of the King's children, including her niece-by-marriage, Elizabeth I. She was born in Norfolk around the year 1505; her family were wealthy, well-connected, politically active and respected members of the English nobility. Her father was an intellectual, with a great interest in culture and education. She was sent to the royal court in her early teens, certainly before her fifteenth birthday, where she joined the household of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She is recorded as having accompanied the royal party on the state visit to France in 1520, "The Field of the Cloth of Gold".
Although it has long been supposed that nothing is recorded of Jane's appearance (and there is no surviving portrait that can be identified as her), her biographer Julia Fox, in Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford, suggests that there is a very remote chance that a Holbein painting represents a likeness of Jane. Meanwhile, she considers "the best impression we can have of Jane Rochford is Holbein’s drawings of an unknown woman in Tudor dress" (pp. 317–319). She was probably considered attractive, given that she was chosen to appear as one of the lead actresses/dancers in the prestigious "Château Vert" masquerade at Court in 1522. The seven performers were selected from the ladies of court in large part for their attractiveness, including the King's sister Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France. Two of the other performers included Jane's future sisters-in-law, Anne and Mary Boleyn.
Marriage
In late 1524 or early 1525, she was married to George Boleyn (later Viscount Rochford), brother of Anne Boleyn, who later became the second queen of Henry VIII. At this stage, however, Anne was not completely attached to the King, although she was already one of the leaders of fashionable society.
As a wedding present, King Henry gave Jane and George Grimston Manor in Norfolk. Since she gained the courtesy title of Viscountess Rochford in 1529 when her husband was made a viscount, she was usually known at court (and by subsequent historians) as "Lady Rochford". As the Boleyn family's wealth and influence increased, the couple were given the Palace of Beaulieu in Essex as their chief residence, which George and Jane decorated with a lavish chapel, a tennis court, a bathroom with hot-and-cold running water, imported carpets, mahogany furniture and their own large collection of silverware. Their marital bed was draped in cloth of gold with a white satin canopy, linen quilts and a yellow counterpane. Beaulieu had initially belonged to the Boleyns as one of their country retreats before they sold it to the King, who spent over £17,000 lavishly refurbishing and expanding it. In the early 1530s, it became the main residence of his eldest daughter, Mary, but when she was banished to Hatfield House, Viscount Rochford was given the house to live in, although the deeds were never formally signed over.
Traditionally, George and Jane's marriage has been portrayed as an unhappy one. One modern historian has suggested that George was homosexual. British historian Alison Weir concludes that the marriage was unhappy, principally because of George, although she concludes that the exact nature of his sexuality is difficult to ascertain: "[A] talented young man ... he was very good-looking and very promiscuous. In fact, according to George Cavendish, he lived in 'bestial' fashion, forcing widows, deflowering virgins ... [and] it has been suggested he indulged in homosexual activity too, but there is no evidence for this, although he may well have committed buggery with female partners." Julia Fox, Jane's most recent biographer, disagrees with both arguments, concluding that the exact nature of the marriage is unclear but suggesting that it was by no means unhappy.