The Queen Who Died To Give Birth To A Prince | Jane Seymour | Henry VIII's Third Wife

despite being the queen who finally gave Henry VII his much longed for son Jane Seymour is also the most enigmatic little is really known about her and yet she would help end a marriage much as her predecessor had give birth to a future king and be the only wife to be buried with her King Jane was born in the early 16th century sometime between 1504 and 1509 most likely around 1508 and at Wolf Hall in Wiltshire her mother Marjorie Wentworth and her father Sir John Seymour were not members of the nobility but were still part of England's well-to-do Gentry and besides this Jane was still a descendant of king Edward III through his son liel of Antwerp first duuk of Clarence Sir John had done well for himself under to Henry iith being knighted in return for his efforts against a Cornish Rebellion a few years before Jane's birth and he was also sheriff and Justice of the Peace for Wilshire at that time Jane was also part of a large family she was one of 10 siblings four of whom would not survive to adulthood and most likely died of plague two of her brothers Edward and Thomas would go on to have prominent roles within history themselves but her brother Henry instead led a quiet Life as a Country Gentleman her two sisters Elizabeth and Dorothy went on to have good marriages into the Gentry and nobility unlike Henry's first two wives Jane was not highly educated her parents had given her a very traditional style of education for a young woman expected only to marry well and produce hirs while helping manage an estate a priest was hired at Wolf Hall most likely for her brothers but it is possible it was partly for the daughters in a rudimentary way as an adult Jane could read but she could not write Beyond her own name she would have learned about household management cooking riding and needle work this was the skill in which Jane would shine and examples of her amazing tapestry work in embroidery survived as late as 1652 when she was still a teenager she was sent to court as a maid of honor to Queen Catherine Henry VII's first wife Catherine of aragan and under the Queen's careful example the court became a place for young women of the Gentry and nobility to learn how to behave at court in later years during her own Reign Jane would use the example of the queen she had idolized in her youth when Henry VII decided to put Catherine aside to pursue amberin Jane was a firm supporter of Catherine despite some other members of her family such as her sister Elizabeth supporting Anne however at the time she was a maid of honor anbin would have been the same before becoming a lady in waiting and so they likely knew one another although it isn't recorded what they thought of each other Jane also grew to know and like Princess Mary who would have only been a few years younger than herself it was something that would ensure when Jane became Queen she would do her best to repair the damage that had been done to Mary by her parents' separation and the way her mother had been treated having said all this although Jane may even have been one of those who initially went with Catherine when she was sent away to the Moore Castle in hartfordshire she and her family were ambitious enough to recognize this wasn't the Way Forward by Chris 1533 Jane was in Anne Bin's household as one of her ladies in Waiting Anne had an enormous number of female attendants and so Jane's previous experience at court would have helped her easily find a place Henry VII presented gifts to all of an's ladies that Christmas including Jane and therefore he might have known of her at least but it was in September 1535 that Henry began to really take notice of her his relationship with Anne had been stormy for a long time after marrying her in January 1533 and he now regularly argued with the new Queen added to this was the complication that she still hadn't given him the much longed for son he desired and it only needed the right pretty face to drive a wedge between them but in September Henry decided to visit Wolf Hall as Jane's family were only Gentry a royal visit was a very big deal it was also an extremely expensive undertaking as the royal family and their retainers had to be taken care of and usually for a somewhat nebulous amount of time but the King was known to be pleasant and not demanding of his host and all would likely have enjoyed the hunting in the nearby savenac Forest Jane was a stark contrast to Henry's Queen an was flirtatious exotic in her French dress and games of courtly love and fiery in her opinions and while this was highly attractive in a mistress it was less attractive in a wife who had to be Queen a position that suggested supporting the king and not arguing with him Jane may have been quietly ambitious but she hid it under a veil of demure innocence with with a quiet eager tolee demeanor as we've discussed in another video about Henry VII he idolized his mother Elizabeth of York who died when he was still young Elizabeth had been calm and gentle in nature and supported her husband seemingly without argument throughout their marriage this cemented in Henry's mind what the ideal queenly wife should be like and Jane seemed able to be help to this standard by this point she was also in her late 20s unusual at a time when most women in the Gentry or nobility were at least engaged by their mid teens she wasn't known to be pretty but soon Anne and the court knew Henry was quite taken with the supposedly Plain Jane and was pursuing her with a view to having her as a mistress but Jane cleverly turned Anne's trick to become Queen to her own style she also held Henry off sexually claiming that she had strong feelings for the king but also that her Chase nature would not allow her to do such an improper thing as being a mistress playing hard to get worked and Henry was only more attracted to Jane's display of heartfelt sweetness others noticed this budding relationship especially those who wanted rid of Anne mostly for her fervent appreciation for the new Protestant Faith as well as for the fact she simply wasn't popular and had yet to yield a male heir to the throne in Jane they saw an opportunity including that everpresent Judah commentator hustus shapis who served Charles I as Imperial ambassador to England those courtiers who saw a way to use Jane to be rid of Anne encouraged Henry in his efforts to have an affair with her and as Jane's family were part of those who despised an and had sided with Catherine no doubt they also encouraged Jane to show the king some affection to give him hope when both Jane and Henry were back at court their Affair intensified emotionally and many people began to report that the king appeared to be in love once again with a woman he was was n married to Edward and Thomas Seymour were also at court and they were careful to remind their sister not to give up her virginity and remain modest and virtuous at all times she did this perfectly keeping Henry at bay on the promise of more sensual Pleasures if marriage was on the table basically pulling the same trick an had done and yet again Henry was pulled in by it history has of often painted Jane at this point as little more than a tool used by a ruthless and ambitious family but this really sells her very short Jane herself would have to prove she was not only determined and aspirational but also that she was capable of putting her conscience to one side in the pursuit of the husband of the queen she served Jane was often alone with the king in many situations and her resol against his advances had to be Ironclad something that could only happen if she herself was the driving force behind the plan to seduce Henry into marriage but at least part of her ambition also came from her desire to return to the Catholic faith and reunite England with Rome on the 7th of January 1536 Catherine of aragan died most likely from a tumor on her heart although Henry and an both outwardly much to the disgust of their courtiers showed their relief at this by wearing yellow there were still few signs that Henry was planning on putting Anne aside but this was due to her being pregnant and this was her final hope at proving herself sadly for Anne she would misc carry before the end of the month but the cause of this would be rumored as mental anguish involving her husband and Jane on the afternoon of Catherine's funeral the queen entered a room only to find Jane sitting on Henry's knee she flew into a rage and fearing for the sake of his unborn child the king sent Jane away and tried to calm Anne unfortunately nothing helped and the stress of these incidents took their tall leading to the queen miscarrying that evening as Jane was also being courted at this Time by those who wanted an alliance once more between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles I and Henry VII she was no doubt also Whispering poison in the king's ear about Anne during this time Henry also made sure to maintain a respectful distance from Jane while still showing his interest keeping her name free of Scandal while showering her with gifts Anne had noticed Jane idly mess ing about with a locket around her neck opening and closing it while looking down like a Lovick puppy at the portrait inside an was well aware of who Jane was probably looking at and after confirming it was a miniature portrait of Henry she snatched it off Jane's neck supposedly so hard that her fingers bled there was an incident not long after this in which Henry sent Sir Nicholas CaRu from London to Jane with with a purse of money and a love letter Jane had accepted all gifts until this point but a gift of money was a bit too much she decided to use this moment as a massive glowing hint with a suitably theatrical performance to back it up kissing the letter with all reverence Jane handed it back unopened and fell to her knees begging that the king consider her position she added that she would happily take the king's gift of money but she prayed him to do so when God might send her a husband to marry the King was delighted with her show of virtue and said he would from that point on only speak with Jane in the presence of her relatives rooms were arranged for Edward Seymour and his wife Anne that were connected to Henry's rooms by a secret gall gallery and it was also arranged that Jane would share the suite with her brother and sister-in-law within a few months Anne had been accused of sleeping with several men including not only a musician within her household and several cours but also her own brother George Bolin despite Anne's less attractive qualities most modern historians agree the charges were a load of nonsense and were a convenient way to get rid of her the queen was placed in the Tower of London and found guilty of adultery incest and high treason on the morning of the 19th of May apparently with an acceptance of her fate ellin was led out to a scaffold and beheaded Henry was out hunting at the time on the 14th of May a few days before Henry had installed Jane in a house in London she was waited on by servants from the king's own household and it would appear she calmly took on this new role for herself with no thought given for the woman who would soon vacate the place Jane wanted to occupy and while on the 19th Henry wore white as a show of mourning for his now late queen as soon as learning an was dead he made his way with all haste along the temps to the Strand where Jane was waiting for her part she spent little to no time thinking about an berin instead spending most of the day sorting out her wedding attire even the privy Council were behind the Speedy decision for Henry to marry Jane most likely due to the need for a legitimate Heir as his illegitimate son the Duke of Richmond was dying and his two daughters were no longer considered legitimate Henry and Jane were formerly betrothed on the 20th of May just the day after Anne's death and if you think that was fast and tactless it was nothing compared to the fact that they were married just 10 days later on the 30th at the palace of whiteall in the Queen's Closet by Bishop Gardner Jane was a popular figure amongst the Ordinary People of England as well with stories of her virtuous behavior and her compassion for princess Mary doing the rounds Henry gave her a wedding gift of 104 manners in four counties as well as many hunting chases and forests to provide for her income during their marriage a week later Henry was optimistically speaking of a son who was hoped for in due season suggesting that the wedding had been successfully consummated not long after their honeymoon the royal couple moved to Greenwich and on the first Friday there Jane dined in public with her husband impressing the courtier's present with her gentleness and demure nature as Queen she would make her Reign very different from an's where Anne had wanted her own way Jane showed herself willing to bend to Henry's wants instead something played out by her personal motto bound to obey and serve Jane also impressed members of the Court not by being dazzlingly beautiful or witty but by being moderate and pleasant most liked that she was Pious but not too over the top about it the extravagance and lavish entertainments that had been enjoyed by Anne was swept aside and Jane also banned the French fashions that her predecessor had popularized if Jane had a flaw that was noted by others it was that she kept herself apart from her now social inferiors and she was viewed as cold and arrogant at times wanting to keep a strict etiquette at all times within her household she also despite her desire to be as opposite to an as possible increased the number of her household from 168 to 200 on the day her ladies were being sworn in the king wasn't present instead listen in to a report from his privy Council about Princess Mary's conduct during a recent visit they had made to her Henry was Furious about how she was still very understandably against him he wanted to have her put on trial for treason for some of the things she had said and Jane gently tried to beg him not to go forward with this course of action Henry responded by telling Jane she must be out of her senses just in case she hadn't received the memo Jane quickly learned to tread very carefully with the abusive behavior of her husband luckily very few of the people agreed with the King and he was persuaded instead to make Mary sign a series of Articles declaring her mother and father's marriage as incestuous and recognizing Henry as head of the Church of England on the 4th of June une 1536 Jane was publicly declared as Queen however her coronation wasn't planned and she never actually would be crowned most likely due to a combination of plague holding things back and her untimely death the decision to withhold her coronation seems to have been based on Henry wanting to ensure she gave birth to a son before it happened but Jane had four main aims remain Queen give birth to a prince help Princess Mary be reinstated to her rightful place and of course help her own family further up the social ladder having watched an's attempt at being Queen Jane will likely have understood it made more sense to take her time and move slowly with the little influence she currently had she and successive wives knew they would never hold a position against Henry the way Catherine or Anne had and they would instead need to be submissive and adoring at all times for Henry's part he does seem to have cared about Jane and loved her as she was he was fond of stating she was his first lawful wife although his passion for her died down once he actually had her as his wife the same as had happened with Henry's previous two spouses but he was also an indulgent husband and Jane was constantly being given jewels and new fashionable clothing as well as a glittering inventory of furniture for her rooms by this point Mary had also realized that her father was only going to show her clemency if she subjected herself to his demands both her cousin Charles I 5th and the Ambassador shapis had assured Mary she would be absolved by the pope if she did sign the Articles understanding the young princess had no way to be safe if she refused on the 13th of June though it must have been a horrible thing to force herself to do Mary signed what was required of her sending the articles with a letter begging her father for forgiveness and stating that she knew she had offended him so badly she didn't even dare call Henry father the knowledge in Mary's mind that she had finally given in for worldly reasons While others suffered for their Catholic faith would haunt her for the rest of her life despite this being an obvious place of abuse she had little choicing even then Henry had to have the last word and instead of accepting this apology which was never really needed anyway irritated at being made to wait so long for it then asked Mary to write a more detailed letter of her faults and to list some ladies she would like in her household should he decide to return Mary to favor poor Mary was pathetically humble in her letter doing as he asked and appearing grateful for it but Jane was overjoyed at Mary's capitulation and having distanced herself from those who were familiar but mere Gentry now was glad to have the opportunity of a friendly face who was close to her own rank during the king and queen's progress in the summer Jane sent her brother Edward to visit Mary and obtain a list of the clothing she would need on her return to court also gifting the princess a fine horse but the last few years had taken a toll on Mary and while the king publicly announced he was to be reconciled with his eldest daughter she was too fragile for anything but a private meeting it took place at a house in Hackney on the 6th of July with the king and queen meeting with Mary at her rooms their retinue overheard Henry speaking gently and kindly to Mary saying how much he regretted having kept her apart from him for so long but the rest of the conversation was in private Jane gifted Mary a diamond ring and Henry gave Mary 1,000 crowns to to spend on whatever she wished adding that he didn't want her to worry about money and that she should have as much as she wished from that moment on by the 13th of October a new problem had Arisen in the Kingdom however a protest began to rise in Yorkshire spreading to other parts of the north of those who still disagreed with Henry's break with Rome and wanted to see a return to Catholicism this would become known as the pilgrimage of Grace it's possible with the return of Mary to favor and Jane sympathetic to the faith they felt there was a chance their pleas would be heard Jane attempted to ask for pardons for some of those involved in the uprising as well as to restore some of the smaller monasteries that had been dissolved this was not unheard of since anglosaxon times it had been the place of the queen to beg for clemency for prisoner often with a behindth scenes agreement already in place that the king agreed but didn't wish to appear weak but in Jane's case her proposition was thoroughly rejected with an explosive burst of Henry's foul temper and Henry reminded her of the Fate Anne had met with when she tried to meddle in his Affairs ordering Jane to attend to other duties the threat was very real and Jane backed down perhaps telling herself that when she had a son she might have more clout and despite the reconciliation with Mary Henry still wanted his son there is some suggestion that Jane might have miscarried a child around Christmas 1536 although the source for this is somewhat shaky as it came many years after the period it's possible that the insults leveled against Henry an's trial that the problem of infertility lay with Henry due to his increasing age were true but by January 1537 Jane was certainly pregnant whether it was the first or second time Henry's nervousness about it being a healthy pregnancy was obvious by Jane's movements once she knew she was carrying a child already limited to just domestic duties and running her own Estates and hous told Jane further withdrew from public life over the summer at Hampton Court living a quiet life with no public engagements Jane developed a craving for quail which Henry had brought over from Cal in huge amounts and Mary and other courtiers also gifted it to Jane the quail was shipped over with the aid of Arthur plantagenet first VI count Lyle an uncle of the king in a token of appreciation Jane set out to help his wife honor Grenville by counter to find a place where one of her two younger daughters Mary and Catherine Jane ordered both girls to be sent over to Hampton Court with two gowns each one of silk and one of damask so she could choose the girls she liked the best for her own household the girl not chosen would be given a place in The Duchess of suffix household Jane would also only provide food and wages it was up to lady ly to provide everything else for her daughter's Comforts and to ensure they were wise and discreet obedient and to be virtuous and Pious not much then it was another hint of the Steely nature hiding beneath Jane's quiet demeanor had she lived longer than she did and grown in confidence it's highly likely more of this side of her would have come out in September 1537 Jane went into her confinement surrounded by the best midwives and Royal Physicians available by the afternoon of the 9th of October Jane's labor pains finally started Henry sent word to London and bells were rung processions from churches began and masses were sung for the health of both the queen and the imminent child thought to be a boy her labor would be a grueling ordeal going on for 3 days and three nights Jane's difficult delivery finally came to an end at 2 a.m. on the 12th of October when she gave birth naturally to a healthy boy with Fair hair on his little head Henry rode immediately to see his wife and child having already chosen the name Edward for his son also bestowing the title of Duke of Cornwall on him at that moment the king and country were Overjoyed to finally have a future king bonfires were lit peels of bells were heard and people got drunk everywhere as plague was still rampant Henry was nervous for his child's health and he ordered his son's apartment to be washed down with soap and swept out daily J would not have had much of a chance to see Edward after giving birth as he would have been carried off to his own Royal household with nursemaids and wet nurses on the 15th of October he was christened without Jane present as was customary but with his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth in attendance carrying the train of his gown but this seemingly idilic return to a warm family life was not to be while Jane was still recovering from the birth it became clear she was very unwell 2 days later she was suffering from diarrhea and sickness however by the 18th Jane was once again improving and everyone thought the worst had pass it now seems likely she was suffering from either a postpartum infection a retained placenta or an infection from an internal tear by the afternoon Jane had once again grown feverish and she sank into a delirium for the next 3 days Henry stayed by her side and in the early morning of Wednesday the 24th of October the last rights were read to the Delirious Queen and she quietly died around 2: a.m. ever anxious of death Henry fled in the morning for Windsor going into seclusion and refusing to see anyone for some time while he did seem to grieve his third wife's passing the suggestions from his councel for a fourth marriage were met with surprising acceptance and it wouldn't be long after Jane's death he was already considering which bride to have for the next Mrs chuda on the 25th of October Jane's body was embed with her entrails removed and buried in the chapel Royal at Hampton Court her body was then dressed in a gold gown her crown and some of her Jewels she was given a magnificent funeral finally buried on the 12th of November 1537 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle with Mary as her Chief mourner despite Jane's short tenure as Queen she had managed to do everything she set out to do she had remained Queen without falling out with Henry she had given him his much-wanted Prince she had restored Princess Mary to the favor of her father and she certainly helped raise the status of her family her two brothers Thomas and Edward would enjoy a huge amount of influence over their nephew as the years went on Henry had certainly truly loved Jane and he held a prolonged grief over her death for 3 months afterwards and Court M continued until Easter 1538 however there is a debate over how much his feelings would have held out had Jane not given him the son he longed for or indeed if she had lived longer as Jane Grew Older there is every chance especially in light of having a son and possibly more had she lived that her determined Spirit would have eventually graded on Henry and caused yet another Rift with a wife in other words Jane did not live long enough for us to know if Henry would have actually settled with his third wife and contined to care about her it says a lot that it was probably the most successful of his marriages and yet lasted less than 2 years when he died Henry ordered his body to be buried beside hers and again Jane's tragic death aligned with that of his own Mother's Jane was Queen for a very short time and yet her presence and single act of becoming mother to a prince ensured her Legacy not merely as wife number three but as part of chuda propaganda long after her death Henry ensured her portrait was included as though she still lived as the matriarch of his own dasty she Rose from being a mere gentleman's daughter to a Queen by quiet ly watching and understanding how to win Henry over and by becoming not necessarily who she really was but by showing a version of herself he wanted to see it would be fascinating to consider what might have been had Jane Seymour lived longer if you enjoyed this video don't forget to like And subscribe so you don't miss any new documentaries [Music] oh

Channel: History's Forgotten People

Views: 54,439

Keywords: jane seymour, henry viii, tudor history, anne boleyn, catherine of aragon, edward iv, the wives of henry viii, tudor women, the history of tudor women, 16th century english history, queen jane seymour

Id: G27PWXCGk_c

Length: 33min 40sec (2020 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 18 2024