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