The truth about Tudor England’s ‘most hated woman’

Jane Boleyn, a 16th century aristocrat, faced explosive accusations. She was held responsible for the shocking betrayal of her husband and Henry VIII’s two wives, his sister-in-law Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Was she a “sex-crazed” spy who committed a crime, or a convenient scapegoat for a tyrant’s atrocities? Her story is told in Philippa Gregory’s new historical thriller The Boleyn Traitor.

No one was safe in the court of the capricious King Henry VIII, and the queen and her courtiers’ confidants could switch allegiances at a moment’s notice. Lady-in-waiting Jane Boleyn, who served five queens, including her sister-in-law Anne Boleyn and Anne’s cousin Catherine Howard, both of whom were executed by Henry VIII, has long been portrayed as one of those turncoats who survived under suspicious circumstances when everyone around her was sent to Brock. Blamed for betraying them, she probably became… Author Tracy Bowman writes:Chief Historian of Historic Royal Courts, “Tudor England’s most hated woman”.

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The infamous figure, who took the title Viscountess Rochford in 1529, is the subject of a new book historical thriller called The Boleyn Traitor. philippa gregory CBE’s hit novel The Other Boleyn Girl inspired the 2008 film of the same name starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. “Jane has continued [my] “I’ve been thinking about her ever since I wrote ‘The Other Boleyn’s Daughter,’ and there have been several new biographies about her since then. For anyone who loves Tudor history, she’s the enigmatic figure at the center of the story who, against all odds, survived the fall of the Boleyn family,” Gregory told the BBC.

Born Jane Parker around 1505, Jane Boleyn was the daughter of a baron who served as a gentleman guide to Henry VIII and translated Italian Renaissance documents for the court. She entered the court at just 11 years old and was appointed lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon. There she met the Boleyn family. Around the age of 20, she had an advantageous marriage with George Boleyn, and in an unexpected turn of events, Boleyn’s sister Anne became queen within ten years.