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10 | <title>Jane Seymour: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</title>
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19 | <td width="25%" height="1"></td>
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20 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="1"><p></td>
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22 | </tr>
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23 | <tr>
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24 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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25 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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26 | <p align="center"><font size="4">Here lies Jane, a phoenix <BR>Who
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27 | died in giving another phoenix birth. <BR>Let her be mourned, for
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28 | birds like these <BR>Are rare indeed. <BR></font><I><FONT size=-1>Jane
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29 | Seymour's epitaph</FONT></I> </td>
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30 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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31 | </tr>
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32 | <tr>
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33 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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34 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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35 | <p align="center"> </p>
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36 | <p align="center">
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37 | <img border="0" src="seymourcardinal.gif" alt="Jane Seymour" width="336" height="91"></p>
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38 | <p align="center">
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39 | <img border="0" src="seymourhorenbout1.jpg" alt="miniature portrait of Jane Seymour by Lucas Horenbout" width="325" height="327"></p>
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40 | <p align="center">
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41 | <i><font size="2">miniature portrait of Jane Seymour by Lucas Horenbout</font></i></p>
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42 | <p align="left">
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43 | <B><br>Henry VIII had
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44 | six wives but only one gave him a son. Jane Seymour fulfilled her
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45 | most important duty as queen, but she was never crowned and died just
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46 | twelve days after the long and arduous birth. She was Henry's third
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47 | wife and seems never to have made much of an impression upon anyone except
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48 | the king. Her meek and circumspect manner was in distinct contrast
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49 | to Henry's second wife, the sharp-tongued Anne Boleyn. Jane had
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50 | served as lady-in-waiting to Anne and she supplanted her in much the same
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51 | way Anne had replaced Katharine of Aragon in Henry's affections. We
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52 | will never know if Jane sought the king's favor or was a frightened pawn
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53 | of her family and the king's desire. But we do know that she bravely
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54 | sought pardons for those involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace revolt in
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55 | 1536. Rebuked by the king, and mindful of the fates of his first two
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56 | wives, she retired into a quiet and decorous role. The triumphant
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57 | birth of her son Edward allowed her two ambitious brothers into the king's
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58 | inner circle; however, both would be executed during Edward's reign.</B>
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59 | </p>
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60 | <p align="left"> </p>
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61 | <BLOCKQUOTE>
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62 | <p><A
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63 | href="seymour.html#Biography">
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64 | <font size="4">Read
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65 | the biography of Jane Seymour.</font></A></p>
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66 | <p> </p>
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67 | <P><B>Primary Sources</B> <BR>Read <A
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68 | href="../letters.html">letters written by
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69 | Jane</A>. <BR><A
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70 | href="../ed6birth.html">Jane Seymour's
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71 | pregnancy is announced</A>, 1537.</P></BLOCKQUOTE>
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72 | <BLOCKQUOTE>
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73 | <p>Visit <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/images.html">Tudor England:
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74 | Images</a> to view portraits of Jane. <BR>Visit the <A
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75 | href="edward6.html">King Edward
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76 | VI site</A> to learn more about Jane's son. </p>
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77 | <P>Test your knowledge of Jane Seymour's life at <A
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78 | href="../tudor1.html">Tudor
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79 | Quizzes</A>.</P>
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80 | <P><br><font size="2"><b>Interact<br></b>Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at
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81 | <a href="http://ladiesallfanlist.cjb.net/">Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
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82 | the Six Wives of Henry VIII</a>.<br><a href="http://tudorhistory.org/lists/list.html">
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83 | Tudor Talk </a> This email discussion list is sponsored by
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84 | Tudorhistory.org.<br>
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85 | <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Reign_of_the_Tudors_rpg/">Reign
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86 | of the Tudors</a> This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
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87 | England. If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
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88 | other Tudors, click the link to join.</font></P>
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89 | </BLOCKQUOTE></td>
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90 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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91 | </tr>
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92 | </table>
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93 | <blockquote>
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94 | <p> </p>
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95 | <p><A name=Biography></A><B>Biography</B> <BR>Jane Seymour's
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96 | family was of ancient and respectable lineage. Her father was Sir
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97 | John Seymour of Wolf Hall in Wiltshire; he served in the Tournai
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98 | campaign of 1513 and accompanied Henry VIII to the Field of the Cloth of
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99 | Gold in 1520. He was made a knight of the body and later a
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100 | gentleman of the king's bedchamber. Both positions were very
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101 | desirable for they allowed personal access to the king. Courtiers
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102 | were always desperate to gain the king's ear, if even for a brief
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103 | moment. Sir John was able to secure appointments at
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104 | court for his family; of his eight children, three would come to
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105 | historical prominence - the eldest son Edward as duke of Somerset and
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106 | Lord Protector, another son Thomas as Lord Admiral and husband of Henry VIII's last queen, and his daughter Jane as queen of England.
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107 | </p>
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108 | <P>The Seymour rise to prominence at Henry's court mirrored that of the
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109 | Boleyns; it was the path sought by all English families with a minor
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110 | pedigree or clever son. But gaining the king's favor was rather
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111 | different than maintaining it and the Seymours proved far more adept at
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112 | the latter.
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113 | <P>Jane's birthdate is unknown; various accounts use anywhere from 1504
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114 | to 1509. She first came to court as a lady-in-waiting to <A
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115 | href="aragon.html">Katharine of
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116 | Aragon</A>, Henry VIII's first wife. But soon enough <A
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117 | href="boleyn.html">Anne
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118 | Boleyn</A> was queen and Jane attended her. She witnessed
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119 | first-hand the tempestuous relationship between Anne and Henry.
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120 | Jane herself was known for her quiet and soothing manner.
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121 | Certainly Henry knew of her but there is no evidence that he took
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122 | particular notice until September 1535 when his royal progress stopped
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123 | at Wolf Hall. Such a visit was a great honor for the Seymour
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124 | family. And it brought Jane, away from court and its flirtatious
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125 | young beauties, immediately to the king's attention.
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126 | <P>Many historians have argued this was the beginning of Henry's
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127 | infatuation, but it was unlikely. Anne Boleyn was not completely
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128 | out of favor just yet; she was pregnant again,<img border="2" src="seymourbiography.jpg" alt="portrait of Jane Seymour by an unknown artist" align="right" width="275" height="423"> though she would suffer a
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129 | miscarriage in January. And Henry's flirtations were confined to
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130 | Anne's cousin, Madge Shelton. Jane Seymour was perhaps in the
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131 | king's thoughts but he did nothing for several months.
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132 | <P>
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133 | In February 1536, however, foreign ambassadors began to report rumors
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134 | of the king's romance with Jane. They speculated upon her chances
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135 | of becoming queen. Henry made his affection clear to Jane; she
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136 | received costly gifts (which she prudently returned) and her brothers
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137 | were promoted at court. In April 1536, Edward Seymour and his wife
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138 | moved to rooms which connected through a hidden passage with the king's
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139 | apartments. Henry could thus continue his courtship of Jane in
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140 | relative privacy.
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141 | <P>But the king was also mindful of the vicious rumors and public
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142 | outrage which had accompanied his open courtship of Anne Boleyn while
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143 | still wed to Katharine of Aragon. He was far more discreet with
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144 | Jane, and this undoubtedly suited her character. She was content
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145 | to remain unknown. There were rumors that she would not dine alone
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146 | with the king, insisting always upon a chaperone, and that she responded
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147 | to a particularly bold flirtation by reminding the king of his marriage.
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148 |
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149 | <P>Henry did not need to be reminded of his second marriage; it had
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150 | become a bitter disappointment for him. He was determined to rid
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151 | himself of Anne Boleyn. Jane's presence was merely another impetus
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152 | for action.
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153 | <P>Another impetus was the death of Katharine of Aragon on 7 January
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154 | 1536. All of Europe, and most Englishmen, had regarded her as the
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155 | king's rightful wife and Anne as merely his concubine. On 29
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156 | January, Anne miscarried a son; the king ominously declared that he
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157 | would have no more children by her. For Henry, it was suddenly
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158 | clear that if he could rid himself of Anne and marry Jane, then he would
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159 | have a legitimate marriage recognized by all and another possibility for
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160 | a son.
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161 | <P>The king began to mention publicly that he had been bewitched into
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162 | marriage with Anne; he knew his words would reach her. Anne was
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163 | terrified but could do little. She had few friends at court,
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164 | and even those were prepared to desert her for the king's favor.
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165 | On 2 May, she was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. On
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166 | 15 May, she was condemned to death; Henry sent a personal message to
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167 | Jane with the news. Four days later Anne was executed; the day
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168 | after, 20 May, the king was formally betrothed to Jane. They
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169 | married ten days later on 30 May and Jane was publicly declared queen on
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170 | 4 June. She chose an apt motto, 'Bound to Obey and Serve'.
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171 | <P>She was never granted the lavish coronation which Anne had
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172 | enjoyed. It was summertime and the minor plagues were sweeping
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173 | through London; the king said she must wait until the spring to be
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174 | crowned. It is also possible, and was rumored, that Henry had no
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175 | intention of crowning Jane until she had proved her worth and provided a
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176 | son. If she proved barren, he could annul their marriage with
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177 | hopefully little fanfare.
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178 | <P>Almost a decade had passed since the 'King's Great Matter' first
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179 | began and still Henry did not have a legitimate heir. And on 20
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180 | July 1536, he received the devastating news that his only illegitimate
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181 | son, Henry Fitzroy, duke of Richmond, had died at the age of 17.
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182 | There had always been the possibility that Fitzroy could have succeeded
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183 | him, but now Henry VIII was left with only two daughters, both declared
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184 | illegitimate. It is certain that if Jane had not provided a son,
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185 | she would have been quickly discarded. Personal affection could
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186 | not overcome political necessity.
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187 | <P>But Jane was able to provide the king with his fondest wish.
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188 | And indeed the whole country wished for an heir; they had no desire to
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189 | return to ruinous civil war.
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190 | <P>Rumors of her pregnancy began almost immediately after her
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191 | marriage. But it wasn't early 1537 that rumors could finally be
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192 | confirmed as fact. The London chronicler Edward Hall recorded
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193 | public rejoicing at news of Jane's quickening: 'On 27 May
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194 | 1537, Trinity Sunday, there was a Te Deum sung in St Paul's cathedral
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195 | for joy at the queen's quickening of her child, my lord chancellor, lord
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196 | privy seal and various other lords and bishops being then present; the
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197 | mayor and aldermen with the best guilds of the city being there in their
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198 | liveries, all giving laud and praise to God for joy about it.'
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199 | <P>Bonfires were lit and celebrations held throughout England; prayers
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200 | were offered for a safe delivery. In early October, Jane went to
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201 | Hampton Court Palace for her lying-in and on 12 October, after a long
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202 | and difficult labor, she gave birth to the wished-for son. It was
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203 | the eve of St Edward's day and so he was baptized by that name on 15
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204 | October. His two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, attended the
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205 | splendid christening ceremony. Mary stood as godmother; Elizabeth
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206 | was carried in the arms of Thomas Seymour, Jane's brother who would
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207 | later plan to marry her. Her grandfather, Thomas Boleyn, also
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208 | attended the ceremony.
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209 | <P>After 29 years as king of England, Henry VIII finally had a
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210 | legitimate male heir. Past grievances could be forgotten at this
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211 | grand moment.
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212 | <P>Jane did not savor her success for long. The christening
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213 | ceremony had begun in her bedchamber; she was wrapped in robes and
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214 | carried on a litter to the king's chapel. She was able to
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215 | participate but the long ordeal proved too much. She was already
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216 | weak and exhausted; she needed quiet and rest and received
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217 | neither. Only a day later, it was reported that the queen was very
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218 | ill. Her condition quickly worsened. She was delirious and
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219 | had a high fever; doctors bled her and attendants hastened to
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220 | fulfill her craving for sweets and wine. The king's chief minister
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221 | Cromwell would later blame the sweets for her death but they did little
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222 | to harm Jane. Modern historians believe she had puerperal sepsis,
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223 | or 'childbed fever'. It was all too common in the 16th century.
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224 | <P>It was later rumored that she died from complications of a Cesarean
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225 | section, that Henry VIII had ordered the child ripped from her womb, but this was unlikely. There were no reports that she was
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226 | bleeding excessively and she was able to attend the christening and
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227 | greet visitors. Sadly, Jane was a victim of her times. Poor
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228 | hygiene and medical knowledge could not stop the fever which finally
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229 | killed her near midnight on 24 October.
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230 | <P>Jane's early death, at the moment of her great triumph, and her
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231 | gentle character had an enduring hold on Henry VIII's memory. She
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232 | was given a solemn state funeral; Princess Mary acted as her chief
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233 | mourner. In her short time as queen, Jane had attempted to
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234 | reconcile Henry and his stubborn daughter. Her body was embalmed
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235 | and laid to rest in the tomb at Windsor Castle which Henry was building
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236 | for himself. Years after her death, even while he was married to
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237 | other women, Jane continued to appear in royal portraits as queen
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238 | consort. Her special status as mother to the heir was never
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239 | forgotten.
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240 | <P>The king wore black until well into 1538 and waited more than two
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241 | years to marry again. This was the longest interval between
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242 | marriages during his reign. <BR> <BR> <BR>
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243 | <CENTER>
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244 | <P><FONT size=-1><A
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245 | href="wives.html">to the Six
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246 | Wives main page</A></FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1><A
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247 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to Tudor
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248 | England</A></FONT><P><font size="-1">
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249 | <a href="../primary.html">to Primary
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250 | Sources</a></font></CENTER>
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251 | </blockquote>
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252 |
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253 | </body>
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