Jane Seymour Reason for Marriage
History has illustrated Jane Seymour as a devoted and peaceful lady.
Yet her reason for marriage is not what you think. She entered court and
gained favour from a King whose life was in turmoil. But he was also a King
who lacked so much integrity. So was Jane's involvement with Henry a
blessing or a curse? And what's the truth behind this lovable woman?
Join me now as we take a look at the life of Jane Seymour.
Jane was the daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth.
She was most likely born at Wolf Hall in Wiltshire.
Although West Bower Manor in Somerset has also been
suggested. It's not known when she was born, but it's been estimated
sometime between 1504 and 1509. Jane's family held a respectable lineage
her father was Sir John he had served in the Tournai campaign of 1513 and also
accompanied Henry VIII to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.
His favour was rewarded by Henry when he firstly made him a Knight and then a
gentlemen of the Kings bedchamber. These were both highly sought after
positions which included personal access to the King. You see courtiers and
Henry's fan club we're always monitoring the situation and looking for any
way to reach out and speak to Henry. But John held the reins for now and his
prominence grew along with the rest of the Seymour family.
The Seymour family rise to prominence at Henry's court was very similar to that
of the Boleyn's and a route to power attempted by many families looking for the
door into the inner sanctuary, while holding on tightly to their minor
pedigree, which on the surface sounds like a decent plan. It was one thing
to be at court, and it was completely different story when it came to
gaining favour from the King himself. Though it seems the Seymour's were by
far the more astute in this field then their predecessors.
Jane first arrived at court as lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first
wife, but soon enough, Anne Boleyn was Queen and so Jane attended her.
Jane was considered to be a quiet lady, meek and very mild. Yet she would witness a
battle of the sexes between Henry and Anne. Although remaining calm and
impartial, it must have been quite daunting for Jane seeing the two
powerhouses competing as they did with each other. It's factual that Henry knew
of her, little is known as to whether he actually noticed her.
This changed in September 1535, on one of his royal progresses through the country,
he stopped over at Wolf Hall. For the Seymour's this was a massive occasion.
It wasn't every day of the week, your employer and King would pop round for a
chat, maybe a bite to eat and a few drinks. The honour of having his
majesty at their home would be memorable for one particular event. It was
when Henry really first set his eyes on Jane. He saw a woman of the
utmost charm in both character and appearance. As for Henry, well, he was hooked!
Maybe the word infatuation is a little strong a term at this point,
but knowing Henry flicking at his little black book, I imagine he pencilled
in Jane for a future date. The big problem for Henry was his marriage to
Anne. And although this was waning, every day, he grew more concerned.
Anne still had an opportunity to resurrect her marriage. She was after all pregnant.
Henry kept himself occupied once back at court, even though his
wife was nearing childbirth, he still found time to woo and become
flirtatious with Anne's cousin, a Madge Shelton. As for Jane, well, for now,
she was completely out of sight and mind for Henry.
In 1536, whispers and rumour began to circulate throughout court.
Speculation was always rife, but it seems now Jane was becoming a clear
favourite to land the throne still occupied by Anne Boleyn. As the plot
thickened, it was Henry who now made some forwarding gestures to Jane.
These were obviously spotted by people within the inner circle. Foreign
ambassadors were reporting on the rumours, and over time, it would become
clear that the King certainly had an affection towards Jane. Gifts began to
arrive at her door, however, she made haste in returning them, you could
say a prudent move on her part. We all know what Henry's like when he gets
a move on! Yet it didn't stop there. Her brothers were also moving into the
Kings Top 10 Chart of Prominence and both would receive promotions at court.
Edward Seymour and his wife had moved to rooms which connected directly to
the King's own rooms via a secret passage. Henry's thoughts were to continue to
court Jane, but this time in a more private capacity. Henry was fully aware
of the public outrage which he witnessed at his open relationship with Anne
while still being married to Catherine of Aragon. And he knew he had to keep
the people on his side this time around. I mean, there's only so much
scandal a family can take. Well, maybe not in Henry's case!
Discretion continued and to some extent this suited Jane. She was more than
content to remain a hidden subject then face the wrath of courtiers. It was
suggested that Jane would dine alone with Henry, she always insisted that
this was purely a platonic friendship, and her charge was nothing more
than being a friend. It's also said that she reminded the King of his
current marriage, Oh be a fly on the wall for that.
Although Henry knew his
previous activities did nothing for his appearance to a wider audience, his
second marriage had become stale. His goal now was to remove Anne Boleyn from
his life and replace her with Jane. It was all the impetus he needed to
take such drastic action. But sad news followed on the 7th January
1536, when it was announced that Catherine of Aragon had passed away.
The news quickly spread throughout Europe and across England. People were
devastated and had always regarded Catherine as the Kings true wife, and his
second bride Anne as nothing more than a mistress. On the 29th January Anne
miscarried a son, the King with a heartfelt declaration said he would
have no more children by her. Hardly the type of words you'd think a caring
husband would offer to his wife, at such an awful time. This is no
caring husband. This is Henry! Henry now set out plans to remove Anne as Queen.
He knew by hook or by crook that she must be ejected from society. Get this
right, marry Jane, he would have at last a legitimate marriage that
people approved off. Also the possibility of having the one thing he
always desired a son. Henry started to talk openly describing his
marriage to Anne as being bewitched. Knowing his words would be heard by Anne,
she found herself in a terrifying position, there was little she could do
to stop the spread or wagging of tongues at court. Anne had made very few
friends while she was with Henry and the ones she did make were now slowly
moving away from her back to the warm and charismatic King.
It would be on May 2nd that Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower of London, on
the 15th May she had been condemned to death. Henry being the good chap, he
was thought it would be proper to send a personal message to Jane with the
news. I'm sure she was thrilled! Four days later, Anne was executed.
The following day, the King had been formally betrothed to Jane.
They were married at the Palace of Whitehall in London in the Queen's closet by
Bishop Gardner on the 30th May 1536. As a wedding gift, Henry granted her
104 manors in four counties, as well as a number of forests and hunting
chases. She was then publicly declared Queen on June 4th.
Jane at least let Henry know exactly how she would get by during their relationship
with an app motto of 'bound to obey and serve.' yet her well-publicised sympathy
for the late Queen Catherine and her daughter Mary showed her to be
compassionate. This made her a popular figure with common people, and most of
the courtiers. Jane never had the grand and extremely lavish ceremony which
Anne had received. And to be fair, it was in the heat of the summer months,
and some minor plagues were sweeping through London. Henry announced it
would be the following year in spring, she would be crowned. But the gossips
again we're already talking this move up, saying Henry really had no
intention of placing the crown on Jane's head unless, this was a big if in
terms of Henry's success rate, if Jane could provide Henry with a son.
If not, it would be a simple process to annul the marriage and move on.
Once again, whether these rumours were true or not, it gives an impression Henry
was already plotting a future campaign.
By now almost 10 years had passed since the Kings great matter first
began, and still Henry had no male heir. More bad news was to follow
when on the 20th July 1536, Henry received news that is only
illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, had passed away at the
age of 17. Henry was now left with two daughters both themselves
illegitimate, Jane's position was precarious. If she could provide Henry
with a son all would be well. If not, she would most likely face the same
treatment as previous, as in being discarded. For now Henry's only interest
was to place his political necessity over anything personal.
Jane, however, was able to give the one thing that Henry most craved, and indeed the
whole country was behind her on this one, a male heir. The people had no desires
to going back into a time of civil war, Henry knew that, but he was literally
in the hands of God on this occasion. As usual, rumours began almost
immediately after their marriage that Jane was pregnant, and this was
confirmed at Christmas in 1536, but she lost the child. Then in January
1537, Jane conceived again. This was later confirmed upon the first sighting
of the maternal bump. The London Chronicler at the time was Edward Hall,
and he recorded that the public were rejoicing at this latest news.
On the 27th May 1537, Hall said
"there was a Te Deum sung in St Paul’s cathedral for joy at the Queen’s
quickening of her child. My Lord Chancellor, Lord privy seal and various
other lords and bishops being then present. The mayor and alderman with the
best guilds of the city being there in their liveries, all giving Lord and
praise to God for joy about it."
It was during her pregnancy like most ladies, Jane got cravings, nothing too
weird but she developed a liking for quail. Now of course, Henry been a
man that would do anything in his quest for an heir, despatched an order for
her, which duly arrived from Calais and Flanders. As the months rolled by
Jane took no public engagements and led a relatively quiet life attended
only by the royal physicians and the best midwives in the kingdom.
It would be a time of celebration, bonfires were lit throughout the land, prayers
offered for the safe delivery, and for Jane who remained at Hampton Court
in preparation for the big day. The birth occurred on the 12th of October,
Jane has suffered throughout with difficult labour, she gave birth to a
son. You can't even imagine how exuberant Henry was at this news. On the
15th October, the eve of St. Edward's day, the baby boy was baptised and
named after the day, Edward. His two half sisters attended and Mary was
godmother and Elizabeth was carried in the arms of Thomas Seymour.
Thomas Boleyn also attended quite possibly under duress, rather than a need to be
present. It had taken 29 years for Henry to finally be granted the one
and only wish he had ever wanted, that of a male heir. For now Henry could
be happy and his past exploits forgotten. It had been a long rocky road to
this point in his life, and surely things can only now get better for the Monarch.
Unfortunately for Jane success was short lived. She was
very weak from the labour and birth. Yet wrapped in robes she was carried
to the King's chapel where the christening took place. Exhausted and very
poorly, the only thing she needed now was peace and quiet, along with time
to recuperate from her exertions. A day later, things took a turn for the
worse. It was reported that the Queen was now gravely ill, and her
condition was worsening. Attempts were made to bring down high temperature
but her fever persisted. The doctors had bled her and other attendants were
helping with a craving for fruit and wine, quite possibly not the best
solution. Today most historians believe that Jane has suffered with either
puerperal sepsis, or ‘childbed fever’. Both common ailments in the 16th century.
Jane died on the 24th October close to midnight. It's a very
sad case. Jane was clearly a victim of the times with poor hygiene and a
lack of medical knowledge, which could not halt the fever which had
escalated so very quickly. For Henry, his world ended on that day, from a
great triumph to now nothing more than a memory. Although Jane would always
have an enduring hold over a king, even in death. Her funeral was a state
occasion, Princess Mary acted as chief mourner, and Jane was buried on the
12th November 1537, in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
A procession of 29 mourners followed Mary, one for every year of Jane's life.
She was the only one of Henry's wives to receive a Queen's funeral,
and after her death Henry wore black, for the next three months.
It would be two years later that Henry once again married this time to Anne
of Cleves, although it's been suggested that negotiations were underway to
have a new Queen, soon after Jane's death. During that time, Henry piled on
excess weight, he became swollen and obese, and he developed diabetes
and gout. Henry was quite possibly never the same again after Jane. And when
he died in 1547, he was buried beside her, on his request, in the grave he had
made for her. Jane was Henry's third wife, but quite possibly the one woman
who Henry truly loved. She was the one who gave birth to his son, and
her demeanour throughout her life seemed to have a settling effect over the
King. He seemed enamoured of her in a way he wasn't with either previous
or the wives yet to come. She also played a part in Mary's succession and
her father's affections, along with her influence to help advance her own
family fortunes. Jane had many qualities that appealed to the ageing King.
She was gentle, sweet natured and subservient. Her lack of need or greed,
perhaps hit a nerve with Henry, and he respected her in a way different
from others. And even in years after her death, although he was married to
other women, Jane continued to appear in royal portraits as the Queen
consort, her special status and mother to the heir was never forgotten.
Thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. For more amazing
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