Elizabeth Boleyn, Lady Boleyn was a lady-in-waiting

Lady-in-waiting

A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...

 at the court of Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. Through her marriage to Sir James Boleyn

James Boleyn

James Boleyn was a courtier in the reign of Henry VIII of England and chancellor of the household of his niece, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII and thus the great-uncle of Elizabeth I...

, she was the aunt of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

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

Lady Boleyn was one of the many relatives who benefitted from the success of her brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Boleyn

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, KG was an English diplomat and politician in the Tudor era. He was born at the family home, Hever Castle, Kent, which had been purchased by his grandfather Geoffrey Boleyn, who was a wealthy mercer. He was buried at St. Peter's parish church in the village of...

, who was a successful ambassador and rose, around the time his daughter Mary

Mary Boleyn

Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...

 was having an affair with the King, to the title Viscount Rochford. After Henry fell in love with Thomas' other daughter, Anne, Thomas Boleyn was given the earldoms of Wiltshire and Ormonde.

Despite this, there seems to have been long-running animosity between Lady Boleyn and her niece. In 1536 five women were appointed to serve Queen Anne while she was imprisoned in the Tower

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

 and to report to Sir William Kingston

William Kingston

Sir William Kingston was an English courtier, soldier and administrator. He was the Constable of the Tower of London during much of the reign of Henry VIII. Among the notable prisoners he was responsible for were Queen Anne Boleyn, and the men accused of adultery with her.-Life:He was of a...

, the Lieutenant of the Tower, and through him to the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, all that the Queen said. These women included Lady Elizabeth Boleyn; Queen Anne's aunt, Lady Anne Shelton

Anne Shelton (courtier)

Anne Shelton née Boleyn was the elder sister of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and an aunt of his daughter, Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.-Life:...

; Lady Mary Kingston

Mary Scrope

Mary Scrope was a lady at the court of Henry VIII of England. She was particularly influential in gathering evidence against the King's second wife, Anne Boleyn during the latter's imprisonment in the Tower of London.- Biography :...

, the wife of Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower; Lady Margaret Coffin

Margaret Dymoke

Margaret Dymoke was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII of England. Her married names were Vernon, Coffin and Manners. She was born around 1500 in Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Sir Robert Dymoke of Scrivelsby and Anne Sparrow....

, the wife of Queen Anne's Master of the Horse

Master of the Horse

The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...

; and Elizabeth Stoner

Elizabeth Stoner

Elizabeth Stoner was a lady-in-waiting to each of Henry VIII of England's six wives, and was the 'Mother of the Maids', with responsibility for the conduct of the young maids-of-honour. She was the wife of the King's Sergeant-at-Arms, William Stoner...

, wife of the King's Serjeant-at-Arms

Serjeant-at-Arms

A Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word sergeant is derived from the Latin serviens, which means "servant"....

. 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".

It was Lady Elizabeth Boleyn and Lady Mary Kingston who accompanied Queen Anne to her trial on 15 May 1536.