Joan Bulmer (1519–December 1590), born Joan Acworth, was an English gentlewoman and courtier. The daughter of George Acworth and Margaret Wilberforce, Joan married William Bulmer at a young age. The marriage was short lived, however, as she left his house to enter into the service of

Agnes Tilney Agnes Howard (née Tilney) (c. 1477 – May 1545) was the second wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Two of King Henry VIII's queens were her step-granddaughters, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Catherine Howard was placed in the Dowag ...

, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. While in service to the duchess, Bulmer became acquainted with

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

, who would go on to become the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. It was during this time that Joan became involved in an affair with Edward Waldegrave. When Catherine Howard married Henry VIII, Joan requested that Catherine offer her a place in her household due to their previous association. When Catherine was arrested, Bulmer was called upon to testify against the Queen and detail the aspects of her early life. After Catherine's trial and execution, Joan was released. She subsequently went on to marry Edward Waldegrave and resided at Lawford Hall in Essex.

In film and television

Joan is depicted in the fourth series of ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

'' by

Catherine Steadman Catherine Steadman is a British actress and author. Career Steadman trained at the Oxford School of Drama and made her screen debut playing Julia Bertram in ''Mansfield Park''. Since then she has appeared in television series such as ''The Tudo ...

References

1519 births 1590 deaths 16th-century English women Household of Catherine Howard {{England-bio-stub