George Boleyn - The Unfortuate Brother of Anne Boleyn

George's marriage has been depicted as an unhappy one however it is unknown just how true that is. Unfortunately, the different books, shows and movies that are about Henry VIII and his six wives, always show differing views and are never kind to George. Some show him as a womanizer, who slept with many other women while married to Jane. Others show that George was a homosexual, who had a relationship with Mark Smeaton; incidently, Mark Smeaton was also accused of adultery with Anne and was executed on the same day as George.

George and Jane's marriage was childless, however during Elizabeth I's reign, the Dean of Lichfield at the time was named George Boleyn and he described himself as the kinsman of her cousin, Henry Carey, Mary Boleyn's Grandson. It is believed that this was an illegitimate son of George's. This supports that George had affairs, however there is no proof that George was a homosexual.

Historians believe that Jane testified against her husband and Anne, which supports the possibility that George's marriage to Jane was unhappy. This could have been out of spite but it would not have made sense at the time. As a women in 16th century England, Jane would have been completely reliant on her husband financially. Women did not have jobs; their roles were to cook and clean. It is possible that Jane never realised the wrong that she had done due to thick and fast questions from her examiner - Thomas Cromwell.

When Anne was arrested, shortly after George, she asked where her 'sweet brother' was. Anne should have known that her brother was being held in the Tower of London, although the reasons would not have been made known. This suggests that the accusation of incest was thrown together whilst George was being held in the tower.

To play Devil's Advocate, it could be suggested, as "The Other Boleyn Girl" shows, that George and Anne did contemplate incest as a way for Anne to fall pregnant after another miscarriage. However, both Boleyns had worked very hard to get to where they were and would not have done anything to jeopardize that. It is known that Anne and George had a close sibling relationship so the 'long time' that Jane referred too was most probably confiding in each other about problems they were facing; Anne's marriage to the king falling apart and George's possible unhappy marriage to Jane.

George was tried by a jury of his peers on the 15th May 1536; however, the outcome was predictable since before him, on the same day, Anne had already been found guilty of incest. George would never have known the evidence against him until it was made clear in court. This meant George had no time to put a defense together. He could not have thought back to the events to determine if they were even possible. Evidently, much of Cromwell's evidence due to locations of the people involved.

After being found guilty, George then confessed that he deserved death and no longer maintained his innocence. However, this does not meant that he was guilty of the crimes he was found guilty of. In Tudor England, prisoners convicted of a crime would see this as a punishment by God for their sinly life but may have been innocent of the crime that they were convicted of.

George was executed on 17th May 1536 along with Mark Smeaton and the four other men convicted of treason on grounds of having an affair with Anne Boleyn. Whether George was guilty of the crimes he was convicted of will always remain a myster;, however evidence does point to his innocence and that it was a way for Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell to rid the court (and England) of the Boleyn faction to open a spot for Jane Seymour and her supporters to grow.

• The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir, Vintage Books, 2007
• The Anne Boleyn Files, www.theanneboleynfiles.com