Elizabeth, Lady Boleyn (; ) was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

at the court of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Through her marriage to Sir James Boleyn, she was the aunt of Henry VIII's second wife,

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. The two were not close, and Elizabeth Boleyn acted as her niece's gaoler when Queen Anne was arrested on charges of adultery, incest and conspiracy to kill the King.

Family background

Her father was Roger Wood or Roger a Woode. The Wood family estates included East Barsham and Terrington in Norfolk. Elizabeth's sister (or aunt), Anne Wood, married Thomas Astley (died 1543) of

Melton Constable Melton Constable is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 518 in 225 households at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 200 ...

. Her son, John Astley (died 1596) was

Master of the Jewel Office The Master of the Jewel Office was a position in the Royal Households of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The office holder was responsible for running the Jewel House, which houses the Crown Jewels Crown jewels a ...

. Anne Astley died at

Blickling Hall Blickling Hall is a Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ruins of a Tudor building for Sir He ...

in 1512. Elizabeth's sister, Alice Wood, married Michael Makerith or Makerel, an embroiderer, and Dorothy Wood married a William Whayte. Roger Wood, by his will of 1518, bequeathed his estates to his brother-in-law William Fermor and his father Henry Fermor, who built East Barsham Manor.

Career at court

Elizabeth Boleyn was one of the many relatives who benefitted from the success of her brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Boleyn, who was a successful ambassador and rose to the title Viscount Rochford in 1525. After Henry fell in love with Thomas' daughter, Anne, Thomas Boleyn was given the earldoms of Wiltshire and Ormonde. Despite this, there seems to have been long-running animosity between Elizabeth Boleyn and her niece. In 1536 five women were appointed to serve Queen Anne while she was imprisoned in the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and to report to Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower, and through him to the King's chief minister,

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

, all that the Queen said. These women included Elizabeth Boleyn; Queen Anne's aunt, Anne Shelton; Mary Kingston, the wife of Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower; Margaret Coffin, the wife of Queen Anne's

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...

; and

Elizabeth Stoner Elizabeth Chamber, better known as Elizabeth Stonor (died after 8 December 1602), was an English courtier. She is remembered as the wife of Sir Walter Stonor, and was one of the women chosen to serve Anne Boleyn, the King's second wife, during ...

, wife of the King's

Serjeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...

. Sir William Kingston described the five as "honest and good women", but Queen Anne said that it was "a great unkindness in the King to set such about me as I have never loved". George Cavendish, ''Wolsey'', pp. 451–460 It was Elizabeth Boleyn and Mary Kingston who accompanied Queen Anne to her trial on 15 May 1536.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boleyn (lady-in-waiting), Elizabeth English ladies-in-waiting Year of birth unknown 16th-century deaths 16th-century English women

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

Wives of knights Household of Anne Boleyn