# Lady Rochford — The Fifth Queen Crowned character guide

> Lady Rochford in The Fifth Queen Crowned by Ford Madox Ford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lady Cicely Rochford, Lady Cicely, Cicely Rochford

**First appearance:** 0002-the-fifth-queen-crowned

## Snapshot

An old courtier who cannot stop talking about her executed cousin Anne Boleyn, she reads every shadow as an omen and every kindness as a weakness.

## Who they are

Lady Cicely Rochford is a fixture of the Queen's chamber, a woman whose hands shake and whose voice bleats whenever she recalls the fate of her cousin, the beheaded Queen Anne. She urges Katharine to rule by fear rather than love, grumbling that humility invites contempt, and her obsessive dread of the scaffold becomes a kind of dark prophecy hanging over the court. She matters because she is the story's living memory of what happens to queens who lose the King's favor, and her nervous warnings give Katharine's early choices their sharpest edge.

## Relationships

### [Anne Boleyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/characters/anne_boleyn)

_family_

Lady Rochford is Anne's sister-in-law, but their relationship is cold and treacherous, as Rochford schemes against Anne.

### [Anne Boleyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/characters/anne_boleyn)

_family_

Lady Rochford is Anne's sister-in-law, but their relationship is cold and treacherous, as Rochford schemes against Anne.

### [Anne Boleyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/characters/anne_boleyn)

_family_

Lady Rochford is Anne's sister-in-law, but their relationship is cold and treacherous, as Rochford schemes against Anne.

## In the story

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/v)

The old Lady Rochford, who is slow-witted and often berates the Queen for being too familiar with her social inferiors. She advises the Queen to be more distant and feared, but the Queen disagrees.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/vii)

One of the Queen's ladies, mentioned as part of the procession at the foot of the chapel stairs.

### [Part II: The Threatened Rift](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/part-ii-the-threatened-rift)

The queen's attendant, who is involved in the intrigues surrounding the queen's private life.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/v)

The old widow, fearful and trembling, assists the Queen in hiding Culpepper, though she is terrified of the consequences.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/i)

The lady who feigns a faint on the floor, listening intently to the proceedings. The Queen sees through her act and dismisses her.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/ii)

Rebuked by the King and ordered to watch over Culpepper all night.

### [Part IV: The End of the Song](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/chapters/part-iv-the-end-of-the-song)

A key figure in the intrigues surrounding the queen, likely facing consequences.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/characters/lady_rochford
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_crowned_se/characters