Jane Seymour Third Wife of Henry VIII

Jane Seymour was the daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wiltshire and Margery Wentworth. Through her maternal grandfather, she was a distant descendant of King Edward III of England and also the Percy family. She was a second cousin to her predecessor Anne Boleyn through their mutual great-grandmother, Elizabeth Cheney. Her exact birth date is debated; it is usually given as 1509, but 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 King Henry's previous wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. 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 maid-of-honour in 1532 to Queen Catherine. After Catherine's marriage to Henry was annulled by the Church of England and Anne Boleyn became Queen, Seymour served Boleyn instead. The first report of Henry VIII's interest in Jane Seymour was in February 1536. Jane Seymour was noted to be pale and blonde, the opposite of Anne Boleyn's dark hair and olive skin.

King Henry VIII was betrothed to Jane Seymour on 20 May 1536, the day after Anne Boleyn's execution, and married her ten days later. She was publicly proclaimed as Queen Consort on 4 June. She was never crowned, due to a plague in London where the coronation was to take place. Henry was also reluctant to crown Jane before she had fulfilled her duty as a Queen Consort by bearing him a son and a male heir.

As Queen Consort, Seymour was said to be strict and formal. She was close only to her female relations, Anne Stanhope (her brother's wife) and her sister, Elizabeth. 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. For example, the dress requirements for ladies of the court were detailed down to the number of pearls that were to be sewn onto each lady's skirt, and the French fashions introduced by Anne Boleyn were banned. Politically, Seymour appears to have been conservative; her only reported involvement in national affairs, in 1536, was when she asked for pardons for participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion. Henry VIII is said to have rejected this, reminding her of the fate her predecessor met with when she "meddled in his affairs".

Jane Seymoir was of the Roman Catholic faith, known as the "old faith"; it is believed, because of this and her loyalty to her former mistress, Catherine of Aragon, Jane put forth much effort to restore Henry's first child, Mary Tudor, to court and heir to the throne behind any children that Jane would have with Henry. Seymour also attempted to reconcile Mary with Henry. Shortly before her death, Jane showed signs of trying to restore Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn's daughter, to court also, starting with inviting Elizabeth to attend Edward's christening.

In early 1537, Jane Seymour became pregnant. During her pregnancy, she developed a craving for quail, which Henry ordered for her from Calais and Flanders. She went into confinement in September 1537 and in October she gave birth to the coveted male heir, the future King Edward VI of England on 12 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace

After Queen Jane participated in the Prince's christening on 15 October 1537, it became clear that she was seriously ill. Her labour had been difficult, lasting two days and three nights, and rumours circulated that she died following an emergency Caesarean section, after Henry ordered the baby to be cut from her to prevent more stillbirths. In reality, it was puerperal fever. Queen Jane died on 24 October 1537 at Hampton Court. She was buried in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after a funeral in which her stepdaughter, Lady Mary (later Queen Mary I), acted as chief mourner. Jane Seymour was the only one of Henry's wives to receive a Queen's funeral.

The following inscription was above her grave for a time:

"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."

After her death, Henry wore black for the next three months and did not remarry for three years, although marriage negotiations were tentatively started soon after her death. It has been speculated by historians that Jane was Henry's favourite wife, mainly due to the fact that she gave birth to a male heir. When he died in 1547, Henry was buried beside her.

Catherine of Aragon

Anne Boleyn

Jane Seymour

Anne of Cleves

Kathryn Howard

Katherine Parr