Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour
Queen Consort of England
Jane Seymour
Born	1508/1509
Died	October 24 1537
Consort	May 30, 1536–October 24, 1537
Consort to	Henry VIII
Issue	Edward VI
Father	John Seymour
Mother	Margaret Wentworth

Lady Jane Seymour (1507/1508–24 October 1537), Queen of England was the third wife of Henry VIII. King Henry courted her while still married to Anne Boleyn. She became betrothed to King Henry just one day after the execution of Anne and they were married ten days later on May 30, 1536. She died of post-natal complications following the birth of her only child, Edward VI. She was remembered with respect and honor for producing an heir.

Biography

Jane Seymour was the daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wiltshire (the fourth John Seymour in a line from 1402) and Margaret Wentworth, and was King Henry VIII's fifth cousin three times removed. Her ancestors were lords for generations on both sides of her parents.

The family of Jane was of an ancient and respectable lineage. Her father served with Henry VIII in the Tournai campaign of 1513 and was a participant to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France in 1520. He received several desirable positions; knight of the body and later gentleman of the king's bedchamber. This personal closeness to the king allowed Sir John access to the "king's ear."

Through this access to the king, Sir John secured appointments at court for his family. Out of eight children, three gained prominence - the eldest son Edward became duke of Somerset and Lord Protector, another son Thomas became Lord Admiral and later husband to Henry VIII's last queen, Catherine Parr, and his daughter Jane, became queen of England.

The Seymour rise to prominence at Henry's court mirrored that of the Boleyns; it was the path sought by all English families with a minor pedigree or clever son. But gaining the king's favor was rather different than maintaining it and the Seymours proved far more adept at it than the Boleyns.

Jane's exact birth date is debated; it is usually given as 1509; however, it has been noted that at her funeral 29 women walked in succession Since it was customary for the attendant company to mark every year of the deceased's life in numbers, this implies she was born in 1508. She was not educated as highly as Catherine or Anne: she could only read and write her name.

Instead she was taught in needlework and household management, which was popular at that time for women. She became a lady-in-waiting in 1530, at age 21 or 22, in the last year of Catherine of Aragon's reign. After Catherine was divorced and Anne Boleyn became queen, she served Anne instead.

She witnessed first-hand the tempestuous relationship between Anne and Henry. Jane herself was known for her quiet and soothing manner. Certainly Henry knew of her but there is no evidence that he took particular notice until September 1535 when his royal progress stopped at Wolf Hall in Wiltshire. Such a visit was a great honor for the Seymour family. And it brought Jane, away from court and its flirtatious young beauties, immediately to the king's attention. Yet he did not show much interest then as he was involved with Anne Boleyn's cousin Madge Shelton.

Marriage to Henry VIII

The Six Wives of King Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Anne of Cleves
Catherine Howard
Catherine Parr

His love for her was not confirmed until February the following year when his marriage to Anne was falling rapidly apart and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon had died in January. His desire to marry her may have predisposed him to believe the false accusations of adultery and witchcraft against Anne.

In February 1536, foreign ambassadors began to report rumors of the king's romance with Jane as they speculated upon Jane becoming queen. Henry made his affection clear to Jane; she received costly gifts (which she prudently returned) and her brothers were promoted at court which was a sign of the king's favor. In April 1536, Edward Seymour and his wife moved to rooms which connected through a hidden passage to the king's apartments. Henry could thus continue his courtship of Jane in relative privacy.

The king was far more discreet with Jane which undoubtedly suited her character. She was content to remain unknown while Anne Boleyn fell out of favor. There were rumors that Jane would not dine alone with the king, insisting always upon a chaperone, and that she responded to a particularly bold flirtation by reminding the king of his marriage.

Henry became betrothed to Jane on 20 May, 1536, the day after Anne's execution, when he was 45 and she 27 or 28, and they married on 30 May. Jane was publicly proclaimed queen on 4 June. She chose an apt motto, 'Bound to Obey and Serve'. She was never officially crowned, it was reported, due to a plague epidemic in London where the coronation was to take place. It has also been suggested that Henry was reluctant to crown Jane before she had fulfilled her duty as a queen by bearing him a son and a male heir.

It had been nearly a decade since the 'King's Great Matter' first began (his efforts to divorce Catherine of Aragon). And on 20 July 1536, he received the devastating news that his only illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, duke of Richmond, had died at the age of 17. This removed the possibility that Fitzroy could have succeeded him, Henry VIII was left with only two daughters, both declared illegitimate. It is certain that if Jane had not provided a son, she would have been quickly discarded regardless of the king's affections.

As queen consort, Jane was strict and formal. She was close only to her female relations, Anne Stanhope (her brother's wife) and her sister, Elizabeth Seymour. The glittering social life and extravagance of the queen's household, which had reached its peak during the time of Anne Boleyn, was replaced by a strict enforcement of decorum in Jane's time. For example, the dress requirements for ladies of the court were detailed down to the number of pearls that were to be sewn into each lady's skirt, and the French fashions introduced by Anne Boleyn were banned. Politically, Jane appears to have been conservative. However, her only involvement in national affairs, in 1536, when she asked for pardons for participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion, was abandoned after the King reminded her of the fate the other queens met with when they "meddled in his affairs".

Pregnancy and birth of King Edward VI and her death

In early 1537, Jane became pregnant. During her pregnancy, she developed a craving for quail, which the King ordered for her from Calais and Flanders.

Bonfires were lit and celebrations held throughout England; prayers were offered for a safe delivery. In early October, Jane went to Hampton Court Palace for her lying-in and on 12 October, after a long and difficult labor, she gave birth to the wished-for son. It was the eve of St Edward's day and so he was baptized by that name on 15 October. His two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, attended the splendid christening ceremony. Mary stood as godmother; Elizabeth was carried in the arms of Thomas Seymour, Jane's brother who would later plan to marry her. Her grandfather, Thomas Boleyn, also attended the ceremony. After 29 years as king of England, Henry VIII finally had a legitimate male heir. Past grievances could be forgotten at this grand moment.

Jane sent a letter announcing the birth of the heir to the Privy Council:

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well, and for as much as by the inestimable goodness and grace of Almighty God, we be delivered and brought in childbed of a prince, conceived in most lawful matrimony between my lord the king's majesty and us, doubting not but that for the love and affection which you bear unto us and to the commonwealth of this realm, the knowledge thereof should be joyous and glad tidings unto you, we have thought good to certify you of the same. To the intent you might not only render unto God condign thanks and prayers for so great a benefit but also continually pray for the long continuance and preservation of the same here in this life to the honor of God, joy and pleasure of my lord the king and us, and the universal weal, quiet and tranquility of this whole realm. Given under our signet at my lord's manor of Hampton Court the 12th day of October. Jane the Quene.

File:KingCharlesI.jpg

Royal Grave cover

After she participated in the prince's christening it became clear that Jane was seriously ill. She had contracted puerperal fever and died on 24 October at Hampton Court living only twelve days after giving birth. There were rumors that she died from a cesarean birth but if that were true she would have died much sooner. She was buried at Windsor Castle after a funeral in which her stepdaughter, Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I), acted as chief mourner. Jane had tried to reconcile Mary and her father.

Above her grave, there was for a time the following inscription:

Here lieth a Phoenix, by whose death

Another Phoenix life gave breath:

It is to be lamented much

The world at once ne'er knew two such.

Legacy

After her death, Henry wore black and did not remarry for three years. This was the longest period between marriages for Henry, and he always remembered her with affection, forgetting the youthful days he spent with Catherine of Aragon and his obsession with Anne Boleyn. Historians have speculated that it was Jane's "achievement" of securing Henry a male heir that made her so fondly remembered—that, or dying before he had tired of her. When he died in 1547, Henry was buried beside her.

Her memory lives on as a lady who fulfilled her royal responsibility by producing an heir. This was done with quiet dignity so unlike the tales of her predecessors.

Edward VI, the son of Jane Seymour

Her son, Edward VI, (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) became King of England and Ireland, on 28 January 1547, and was crowned on 20 February, at nine years of age. Although Henry VIII had severed the link between the English church and Rome, it was during Edward's reign that Protestantism was fully established for the first time in England, with Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, implementing the Book of Common Prayer. Edward's reign was marked by increasingly harsh Protestant reforms, the loss of control of any part of Scotland, and an economic downturn. A period of social unrest begun earlier intensified during his rule, and conflicts with the French increased.

Jane's two ambitious brothers, Thomas and Edward, used her memory to improve their own fortunes. In the reign of the young King Edward VI, Jane's elder brother, Edward Seymour, set himself up as protector and effective ruler of the Kingdom. Edward VI was thought to have been sickly, but it is not clear. The young king died at the age of 15 at Greenwich Palace on 6 July 1553. The definite cause of his death is unknown, but is believed to have been tuberculosis, arsenic poisoning, syphilis or rheumatoid arthritis. His last words were said to have been: "Oh my Lord God, defend this realm from papistry and maintain Thy true religion."

Jane's other brother, Thomas Seymour, married Henry VIII's widow, Catherine Parr, who he had a previous affection for, but he had also designs on the future Queen Elizabeth I. Rumors spread about an overly intimate relationship existing between Thomas and Elisabeth. Thomas was thought to have been extremely jealous of his brother, Edward's power and strove to undermine his authority and even to replace him as Lord Protector, or to kidnap King Edward VI. On 22 February, the Privy Council officially accused him of thirty-three charges of treason. He was executed on 20, March, dying 'dangerously, irksomely, and horribly.' His daughter by Catherine Parr, Mary Seymour, was left penniless and was no longer heard from.

Soon after his brother's death, Edward also fell from power. His position as Duke of Somerset and Protector of the realm, went to John Dudley, later 1st Earl of Northumberland.

In film

• Jane Seymour was first portrayed in film in the 1920 German film Anne Boleyn by Aud Edege Nissen.
• Thirteen years later, Wendy Barrie played a Jane opposite Charles Laughton's Henry VIII in Alexander Korda's highly-acclaimed masterpiece The Private Life of Henry VIII.
• It was not until 1969 that Jane Seymour appeared on the screen again, and it was this time only for a few minutes in Hal B. Wallis' Oscar-winning Anne of the Thousand Days. Jane was played by Lesley Paterson, opposite Richard Burton as Henry VIII. Towards the movie's end, Anne Boleyn (played by Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold) dismisses her as a woman with "the face of a simpering sheep and the manners - but not the morals."
• A year later, as part of the series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, a 90-minute BBC television drama, the segment titled "Jane Seymour" presented her as a shy but honest introvert, devoted to her husband. Henry was played by Keith Michell, and Jane by Anne Stallybrass.
• In 1973, this interpretation of Jane was repeated in Henry VIII and his Six Wives, in which Keith Michell reprised his role from the BBC drama; on this occasion Jane Seymour was played by Jane Asher.
• Jane was played by Charlotte Roach in Dr. David Starkey's documentary series on Henry's queens in 2001.
• Jane appeared briefly, played by Naomi Benson, in the BBC television drama The Other Boleyn Girl, opposite Jared Harris as Henry VIII and Jodhi May as Anne Boleyn.
• In October 2003, in the 2-part ITV drama Henry VIII, Ray Winstone starred as the king. Part 2 charted the king's life from his marriage to Jane Seymour (played by Emilia Fox) until his funeral in 1547. Jane was presented as a woman of moral courage and integrity.
• TV Guide reports that Anita Briem will portray Jane Seymour as lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn in the second season of The Tudors.
• By Corinne Galloway in the 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl.

In song

The English ballad The Death of Queen Jane (Child #170) is about the death of Jane Seymour following the birth of Prince Edward. The story as related in the ballad is historically inaccurate, but apparently reflects the popular view at the time of the events surrounding her death. The historical fact is that Prince Edward was born naturally, and that his mother succumbed to infection and died twelve days later.

In the ballad, during long labor, Queen Jane repeatedly asks that her side be opened to save the baby. In most versions, she is refused repeatedly until finally someone—usually King Henry—succumbs to her pleas and allows the surgery that results in her death.

Most versions of the song end with the contrast between the joy of the birth of the Prince and the grief of the death of the Queen.

From version 170A:

The baby was christened with joy and much mirth,

Whilst poor Queen Jane's body lay cold under earth:

There was ringing and singing and mourning all day,

The Princess Elizabeth went weeping away

The song Lady Jane by the Rolling Stones also holds some connection. The song can be interpreted as Henry's sadness over the loss of Jane, because she was the only wife who actually gave him a much-wanted son, and yet her life was the price of the achievement. The song also mentions a 'Lady Anne' and that fact that the narrator can't be expected to love her when he has, or had, Lady Jane. Anne of Cleves followed Jane Seymour, and Henry quickly divorced her (on the much more fickle ground that she was not attractive).

Rick Wakeman had a pipe-organ based instrumental with Seymour's name on the concept album The Six Wives of Henry VIII. It was made to sound mainly like a typical song from her lifetime, save for a synthesizer solo and drums.

Historiography

Jane was widely praised as "the fairest, the discreetest, and the most meritorious of all Henry VIII's wives" in the centuries after her passing away. One historian, however, took serious umbrage to this view in the 19th century. Victorian scholar Agnes Strickland, author of encyclopedic studies of French, Scottish, and English royal women, said that the story of "Anne Boleyn's last agonized hours" and Henry VIII's swift remarriage to Jane Seymour "is repulsive enough, but it becomes tenfold more abhorrent when the woman who caused the whole tragedy is loaded with panegyric."

Modern historical writers, particularly Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, paint a favorable portrait of a woman of discretion and good-sense—"a strong-minded matriarch in the making," says Weir. Others are not convinced.

Hester W. Chapman and Eric Ives resurrected Strickland's view of Jane Seymour, and believe she played a crucial and conscious role in the cold-blooded plot to bring Anne Boleyn to the executioner's block. David Starkey and Karen Lindsey are both relatively dismissive of Jane's importance in comparison to that of Henry's other queens—particularly Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Parr. Joanna Denny, Marie Louise Bruce and Carolly Erickson also refrain from giving overly-sympathetic accounts of Jane's life and career.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• PBS handbook on "The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Jane Seymour 1508-1537"
• Fraser, Antonia. The Wives of Henry VIII, Vintage 1993. ISBN 978-0679730019
• Starkey, David. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, Harper Perennial, 2004. ISBN 978-0060005504
• Weir, Alison. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Grove Press; 1st Grove Press Paperback edition, 1991). ISBN 978-0802136831

External links

All retrieved May 7, 2008.

• A quick over-view of Jane's life, with a good portrait gallery as well. tudorhistory.org
• A more in-depth historical look at Jane's life and times. englishhistory.net
• A 1996 interview with Anne Boleyn's most respected academic biographer, E.W. Ives in which he offers his interpretations of Anne Boleyn but also speculates on the role Jane played in Anne's downfall. www.publications.bham.ac.uk
• A geo-biography tour of the Six Wives of Henry VIII on Google Earth. bbs.keyhole.com
• The text of the ballad The Death of Queen Jane. www.sacred-texts.com

English royalty
Preceded by: Anne Boleyn	Queen Consort of England 30 May, 1536 - 24 October, 1537	Succeeded by: Anne of Cleves

English Royal Consorts

George, Duke of Cumberland (1702-1707) · Mary of Modena (1685-1688) · Catherine of Braganza (1662-1685) · Henrietta Maria of France (1625-1649) · Anne of Denmark (1603-1619) · Philip II of Spain (1554-1558) · Lord Guildford Dudley (1553) · Catherine Parr (1543-1547) · Catherine Howard (1540-1542) · Anne of Cleves (1540) · Jane Seymour (1536-1537) · Anne Boleyn (1533-1536) · Catherine of Aragon (1509-1533) · Elizabeth of York (1486-1503) · Anne Neville (1483-1485) · Elizabeth Woodville (1464-1483) · Margaret of Anjou (1445-1471) · Catherine of Valois (1420-1422) · Joanna of Navarre (1403-1413) · Isabella of Valois (1396-1399) · Anne of Bohemia (1383-1394) · Philippa of Hainault (1328-1369) · Isabella of France (1308-1327) · Marguerite of France (1299-1307) · Eleanor of Castile (1272-1290) · Eleanor of Provence (1236-1272) · Isabella of Angoulême (1200-1216) · Berengaria of Navarre (1191-1199) · Eleanor of Aquitaine (1154-1189) · Matilda of Boulogne (1135-1152) · Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (1141) · Adeliza of Louvain (1121-1135) · Matilda of Scotland (1100-1118) · Matilda of Flanders (1066-1083)

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