Claire | May 17, 2022
While King Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was being declared null and void by Archbishop Cranmer at Lambeth, executions were taking place on Tower Hill. On this day in 1536, 17th May, George Boleyn, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were executed for high treason after being found guilty […]
Claire | May 4, 2022
On this day in 1536, 4th May, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, received a message of comfort. It was from his wife, Jane Boleyn (née Parker). What do we know about this message? In this video, I share what the contemporary sources tell us about the message and also what else happened on 4th May 1536… […]
Claire | April 23, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd April 1536, St George’s Day, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, lost to Nicholas Carew in the Order of the Garter elections. George Boleyn was, of course, the brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, so how did he lose, and was this a sign of the beginning of the end for […]
Claire | August 21, 2021
George Boleyn is my second favourite historical character and is just as fascinating as his more famous sister, Anne Boleyn, so I’m really pleased that his life and career are being given the attention they deserve in BBC Two’s The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family. If you want to know more about George Boleyn then you […]
Claire | August 18, 2021
Episode 1 of BBC Two’s new three-part series on the Boleyn family – The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family – aired on Friday 13th August, and episodes 2 and 3 have already been released on BBC iPlayer. It is a wonderful series and well worth watching because it introduces a very different Boleyn family. Gone are […]
Claire | May 17, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 17th May 1536, courtiers George Boleyn, Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were beheaded on Tower Hill for high treason. All five had been found guilty of treason, for their alleged affairs with Queen Anne Boleyn, and for plotting with her to kill her husband, […]
Claire | May 15, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 15th May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn and her brother, the courtier, poet and diplomat, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, were tried in the King’s Hall at the Tower of London. They were tried separately by a jury of their peers presided over by their uncle, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of […]
Claire | April 23, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd April, less than a month before he was executed, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, a man who had been in high favour and was a friend of his brother-in-law the king, lost to courtier Nicholas Carew in the Order of the Garter elections. Why would the queen’s brother lose […]
