Why Did Jane Boleyn have to Die?
On February 13, 1542, Jane Boleyn was beheaded on Tower Green, just after Catherine Howard. Despite her madness, she was composed at the time of her death. As was customary, she prayed for the king and apologized for her ‘many sins”. According to Ottwell Johnson, a merchant who saw both executions, both the Queen and her lady made such a good end that “their souls [must] be with God, for they made the most godly and Christian end.”Jane’s head was removed with a single blow of the ax. She was buried in the Church of St Peter ad Vincula- not far from her sister in law, Anne Boleyn and her husband George.
The Act of Attainer, which led to Jane Boleyn’s execution, not only ended her life; it also destroyed her reputation. For it branded Lady Rochford a “bawd’– in other words, a brothel madame and so implied that she had corrupted her mistress. Henry VIII was not known for being merciful to those who crossed him. But why was it not enough for him that Jane Boleyn should lose her mind and her reputation? Why did she also have to lose her life?
Jane’s fate seems particularly harsh in light of the ‘services’ she rendered Henry regarding unwanted wives. However, Jane may not have been as ‘useful’ as accepted history would have us believe. For although she did provide evidence in the annulment of the Cleave marriage, the part she played in the downfall of Anne Boleyn has been overplayed at best. Nowhere in the trial documents is Jane named as a witness. Chapuys mentioned that there was a woman who gave evidence regarding the Queen’s incest with her brother. However, he did not name her- a strange omission if she was the sister in law of the Queen.
There was only one piece of information that Jane Boleyn is known with certainty to have supplied to Cromwell. Terrified by the implications of the fall of the Boleyns to her own person, Jane was desperate to provide something, anything to prove her loyalty to the King. So she betrayed Anne Boleyn’s confidence by passing on a piece of very private information regarding the state of relations in the royal bedchamber. Jane told Cromwell that Anne had confided in her that although Henry was still capable of sex, it took him a long time to rise to the occasion. Indiscrete perhaps. But hardly enough to condemn Anne for treason.
In truth, Henry VIII had Jane Boleyn executed because he had been made to look a fool. His wife had been unfaithful to him under his very nose- and Jane had helped her. It would not have occurred to Henry that Jane’s position was impossible. There was no way she could have informed on the Queen without hard evidence and escaped Henry’s wrath. Not could she refuse Catherine her aid. However, this aside perhaps Henry was afraid of something else. For Jane had kept royal secrets well enough when sane. But what would she reveal with the balance of her mind disturbed? Jane Boleyn’s madness might have been enough to salve Henry’s wounded pride- if she had not been privy to so many secrets.
Where Do We Get This Stuff? Here are our Sources:
How many executions was Henry VIII responsible for? History Extra, December 28, 2014
Understanding Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, The Tudor Enthusiast, December 29, 2012
Jane Boleyn – History’s Scapegoat, Claire Ridgway, The Anne Boleyn Files, February 13, 2012
Jane Boely: The Infamous Lady Rochford, Julia Fox, The Anne Boleyn Files, June 3, 2011
Tudor England Mental Illness Types & Facts, Hanson, Marilee, English History, March 4, 2015
Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford, Julia Fox