The six wives of Henry VIII : Jane Seymour

We all know the story of Henry VIII and his six wives, but I still like to talk about them occasionally.

          The meek and docile third wife? Or a woman who had a heart of steel?

 Jane earns the reputation as the quiet mouse, but was she just the quiet mouse? Or did she actually have quite a steely exterior and fought for her beliefs?

Jane Seymour was born between 1504 and 1509, like most of Henry's wives it is hard to pinpoint her birth date, it is most likely to have been 1508. Her parents were John Seymour and Margery Wentworth, and she was one of many children. Jane had a good childhood growing up, she was taught the skills a housewife needed, sewing and being head of the household, Jane is said to not be as well educated as her predecessors but she could still read and write, even if it was at a basic level. Her needlework received high praise and she seems to have genuinely enjoyed it.

We don't know much about Jane's early life, much of it was either lost or just simply wasn't recorded. Jane is not the only example of having no documents on how they grew up or how they lived, many women in history have lost their voice and simply just not had their lives documented.

Jane started her career in court possibly as early as 1527, but we definitely know she was a lady in waiting to Catherine by 1532. She became a lady in waiting to Queen Anne by as late as 1535, but again possibly earlier. Jane seems to have been a faithful and loyal servant to both of her Queens, regardless of what her opinion might have been.  In all of Jane's time being a lady in waiting, there is no documentation that she was ever betrothed or had any interest from a male courtier.

Jane was of fair complexion, she had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was recorded to be of middling stature, Chapuys actually said she was not much to look at, after her predecessor, but Henry considered her beautiful. Jane seems to have been a very unproblematic person, she was classed as meek and gentle, but I think she learned the ins and outs of courts very quickly and wanted to stay safe. 

The only time Jane really showed an opinion, was in her sympathy for Queen Catherine's plight and Princess Mary. It is recorded that once she become Queen, she fought a lot for Mary much at the risk of Henry's wrath. She believed in a united family front.

When Henry took an interest in Jane we can not be too sure, but he was sending her gifts by February 1536, it is possible he took an interest in Jane in the summer progress of 1535. Anne losing her baby in January 1536, will have pushed Henry into the arms of Jane, and Anne's enemies. Although Jane was loyal, she did not particularly like Anne, many believe Jane was coached into how to capture and keep the King's affections, we will simply not know if this was ever true. Jane was more conservative, she rarely got involved in politics, and was demured by Henry's opinions, Henry probably liked this, Anne had an opinion and would argue back.

Anne grew increasingly jealous of Jane, this must have been uncomfortable for Jane, she doesn't seem to have liked conflict and being the other woman in a marriage was not a very nice prospect. It is possible she believed she was doing the right thing because Anne had done the same thing ten years earlier. At some point, Henry gave Jane a gift, a locket with his portrait inside, Anne supposedly saw this gift and ripped it off of Jane's neck, Anne cut her finger and started to bleed. This may not have actually happened, but it is interesting to think of how tense and toxic the situation was between the two women.

Henry does not seem to have been that serious about Jane until rumours about Anne had started to circle. Henry wanted Jane to be another mistress, and Jane held out for marriage, just like Anne had done, I think this must have made Anne nervous, she knew what Henry didn't have he wanted even more. Jane was a serious threat, if she wanted to be or not, she was becoming a very important person. 

Henry set up a household at Chelsea for Jane, and Anne was arrested for treason on the 2nd of May 1536. Jane might have known that Henry was looking for a way out of his second marriage, but I bet she didn't know Anne was going to be arrested for treason. While Anne was languishing in the tower, the court was switching their allegiance to their future Queen it seems. Anne was not a popular Queen, but people knew that Henry had an interest in Jane, a pamphlet went around talking quite horribly about Jane and Henry, and public opinion was easily changeable.

Anne was executed for treason on the 19th of May 1536, and Jane was betrothed to the King on the 20th. They were married eleven days later, at the Palace of Whitehall, Jane had walked over the body of her predecessor and became Queen of England, she now had the overwhelming pressure to bear the King an heir or end up like her predecessors. She was publicly proclaimed Queen on the 4th of June 1536. Her motto as Queen was "Bound to obey and serve", very apt after the troubles of Anne Boleyn.

Jane was a very strict and formal Queen, she banished French fashion from the court, which was made popular by Anne Boleyn. The only time she got involved in politics was to try and get pardons for the participants of the Pilgrimage of Grace, a revolt against the reformation of the church, the whole of the North rose up against the King, however, they said they were rising up against Thomas Cromwell. Henry supposedly rejected this and reminded her of the fate of her predecessor when she had meddled with affairs, Jane knew where she stood and she wasn't so brave again, nor did she really have the chance.

Jane was to form a close relationship with her step-daughter Mary and would go to a lot of effort to restore Mary to court and her father's affection. She put Mary before any possible future children she might have had with Henry, which does show she was a good person and had a kind heart. Jane wanted Mary restored to the line of succession, but Mary would not be restored to the line of succession until Katherine Parr was Queen.

Jane finally became pregnant by February 1537, she must have felt the utmost pressure to deliver a healthy child and for that child to be a son. Childbirth was a scary thing the most of time, but after what had happened to Catherine and Anne, she knew she couldn't mess up. Jane's position was precarious, everyone now knew a queen was indispensable. Jane had an intense craving for Quails' eggs, which Henry ordered for her from France and Flanders. 

During the summer of 1537, Jane led a relatively quiet life, she did not go to any public engagements and stayed in her rooms or with Henry. Henry had gotten Jane the best doctors and midwives he could possibly find, Henry was desperate for his son and heir. I don't think it can be said enough how daunting this must have been, it was her first child and she seems to have hidden herself from everyone. Jane must have been terrified, and what was to come was going to illuminate her fears.

Jane went into confinement in September 1537. On the 12th of October 1537, Jane finally gave birth to the much-wanted male heir. Henry was jubilated, and so was the rest of the country. The Tudor dynasty was finally safe, and the risk of the civil war was reduced. Jane was safe, no one could touch or slander the mother of the future heir, Jane also showed she could have more sons. Jane was now considered the king's true love, and he would refer to Jane as this until his death. Edward was christened on the 15th of October, Jane was not in attendance, this was the custom.

Jane may have given birth to the future king but it wasn't easy, Jane had had a difficult labour, her labour had lasted 3 days and 2 nights, which would be difficult today never mind 500 years ago! This was most likely to do with the positioning of the baby. Once Edward was christened, it was becoming very clear that Jane was seriously unwell. There are many possibilities as to why Jane had become ill, but she was not strong enough to fight off the illness, she died on the 24th of October at Hampton Court Palace. Jane possibly died of childbed fever, she might have lost too much blood during her labour, there are so many possibilities as to why she passed away, and sadly we will never really know what took Henry's third Queen. Jane was possibly only 29 when she died, we think this because she had 29 chief mourners at her funeral, this was meant to represent each year she had been on this earth. Jane was buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor, and Henry was to join her in 1547. Jane was the only one of Henry's queens to receive a queen's funeral. Henry went into deep mourning, he wore black for three months after her death. Henry made no plans to marry, but plans were tentatively made for Henry to remarry soon after Jane died.

Jane's life was tragically cut short, she had no time to enjoy being a mother and secure in her position as Queen. Jane was sweet, gentle and kind, but she was not a pushover. Jane is just classed as a plain Jane, but she was more than that, she knew when it was sensible to say something and when to keep her mouth closed. She became a second mother to Mary, something Anne never was to Mary. Jane was a good mothering figure, and would successfully secure Mary her father's affection. Jane is massively underestimated, so I hope when reading this you think twice about Jane and do some reading up on Jane.

Until next time, 

                      Unholytudor 💜