page_title: Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford
section_title: Later political intrigues
hierarchical_section_title: Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford / Widowhood / Later political intrigues
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait miniature of a lady, perhaps Katherine Howard, by Hans Holbein the Younger.
context_page_description: Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, was the wife of the Viscount Rochford, 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. She is wrongly believed to have had a role in the judgments against, and subsequent executions of, her husband and Anne Boleyn, despite there being a lack of evidence to support this. 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.
context_section_description: After her husband's execution, Lady Rochford was absent from court for several months. She spent this time securing her financial position by negotiations with her father-in-law, Sir Thomas Boleyn, but mainly with Thomas Cromwell, the king's chief minister. The Boleyns eventually allocated her the sizable annual pension of £100, precisely what they had given their eldest daughter Mary, when she had been widowed eight years earlier. It was much less than her previous income as sister-in-law to the queen-consort, but it was enough to keep her as a noblewoman, which was essential for her return to Court, something Jane worked doggedly for in 1536 and 1537. It is unknown when she returned to court, but she was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Jane Seymour, so she probably returned within a year of her husband's death. (Jane Seymour died soon after childbirth, within eighteen months of becoming Henry's wife.) As a viscountess, she was allowed to bring a number of her own servants with her, lodge in the palace, and be addressed as "Lady Rochford". Fine meals were provided for her every day from the budget of the queen's household.
  Following Jane Seymour's death, the King subsequently married Anne of Cleves, a German princess recommended by Cromwell. However, Henry soon wanted to be rid of Anne, and sought an annulment. In July 1540, Lady Rochford testified that the Queen had confided in her that the marriage had never been consummated. This allowed the king to annul the marriage and marry his teenage mistress, Catherine Howard.
  Lady Rochford kept her post as lady-in-waiting to the new Queen Catherine. Queen Catherine's past indiscretions were uncovered in the autumn, and her private life was investigated.
  The Queen was first detained in her apartments and then placed under house arrest at Syon Abbey, a disused convent. Her confidantes and favourites were questioned and their rooms searched. Lady Rochford was herself detained for questioning, implicated in arranging meetings between the Queen and Thomas Culpeper.
caption: Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn's cousin-in-law and Queen of England, Henry VIII's fifth wife
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