On this day in history George Boleyn, brother to Anne Boleyn, was executed on this day, along with four other men. His alleged crime? Committingincest with his sister Anne. And acting in a treason-like manner with his alleged actions against the king. These allegations against George and Anne would secure both of their downfalls, and the downfalls of four other men. However, before we get to the end of George's story, we must start at the beginning.
George Boleyn is thought to have been born sometime inApril 1504 at Blickling Hall in Norfolk. He was born into a wealthy, well established, aristocratic family. His father was Thomas Boleyn, a politician who was a cold and calculating figure. So much so, that his children became pawns in quest for power. His mother was Elizabeth Boleyn, who was also of nobel birth. The fates might have been against George towards the end of his short life. But, he certainly was a winner in the lottery of birth.
George was one of three siblings. One of his siblings is of course, Anne Boleyn. His other sister is Mary Boleyn. From different sources we can be certain that George was born in 1504. What historians have debated is the age of the three Boleyn siblings. Due to the uncertainty of when Anne Boleyn and Mary Boleyn were born. With the information that we know now, it is likely that George was the youngest of the three. There was two other siblings of George, Anne and Mary. However, neither two siblings reached adulthood.
We do not know much about George Boleyn's early life. There is one thing that we do know, the fact that he would have been educated and intelligent. He likely spoke French, as well as English. Had a thorough knowledge of music. And, he could read and write. Something which was rare in the Tudor era, reserved only for the extremely wealthy.
It is also clear that George, like his sister Anne, lived abroad in his early years. Other than this, we don't really know anything about him. Or his time abroad. The only detailed account that we have of George's life is in his latter years. Most of what we know about George comes from 1529 to 1536, the last six or seven years of his life. George Boleyn starts to become prominent figure in 1529 when, at 27 years old, he becomes a member of the Privy Council a group of specially appointed advisers to the ruling monarch, by the ruling monarch. The Privy Council is a group which still surprisingly and controversially is still active today. By the time that George was appointed member of the Privy Council, he was well into his marriage. He married a nobel woman called Jane Parker. A woman who would become the infamousLady Jane Rochford Boleyn. Jane would become infamous because of her damaging evidence towards her husband and sister-in-law. It is through Jane that the allegations of George and Anne committing incest came to fruition. There is debate however about whether or not Jane did actually betray her husband and her sister-in-law. Which is discussed in the book 'Jane Boleyn: The infamous Lady Rochford'. Later in Jane's life, she suffered a full mental breakdown and was declared insane. It could be argued that she was mentally ill for longer than that. Given her strange behavior in helping future queen Katherine Howard have an affair with Thomas Culpepper. And, it would have been silly for her to bring her husband down, knowing full well that would also be her own downfall - given at the time divorced women were not treated as kindly as divorced men. It might have been foolish of her to help create her own downfall, but it doesn't really suggest that she was mentally insane. We don't know enough about her to make judgments on her full mental and emotional health. Given that George Boleyn was speculated to be promiscuous, she probably felt resentful and unloved by him. So much so, that perhaps her words and accusations about him may have been a way to get back at him. A foolish heat of the moment decision. The rumors surrounding Jane's alleged words against her husband and sister-in-law were used opportunistically against the Boleyn's. It was words that helped bring the Boleyn's down. Regardless if they were actually based on truth or not. Even if Jane Boleyn was taken out of the picture, the same fate would have likely bestowed George, Anne and the other four men. A case was built against them. Even though the evidence is virtually non-existent. The outcome would have most likely have been the same, with or without Jane in the picture. That fate was that George, Anne, Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton, Francis Weston and William Brereton, were all sentenced to death. The five men, including George, were executed on the 17th of May 1536. Anne Boleyn was killed two days later, on the 19th of May 1536.
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