Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII of England. Humble and gentle, where his second wife, Anne Boleyn, had been proud and bold. Still, her impact on royal history was immense, as she was to give the king what he so desperately desired. But she would pay the highest price for it.
Jane Seymour, Lady-in-Waiting
Little is known about the early life of Jane Seymour, who was born around 1509. She was the daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth and was most likely born at Wolf Hall, Wiltshire.
It was only when she came to court at the age of about 20 and entered the service of Queen Catherine of Aragon that she stepped into the historical spotlight.
At first, Jane Seymour did not attract much attention: contemporaries described her as unremarkable, moderately attractive, and very pale. She was Catholic and is therefore believed to have viewed the king’s decision to separate from Catherine of Aragon and split from the Catholic Church with unease. It is uncertain whether she even left court for a time, only to return after Anne Boleyn had already become queen. Exactly when and how Henry noticed the unassuming lady-in-waiting remains unclear.
Jane’s brothers, Edward and Thomas, both ambitious young men, were also at court. Alongside the Catholic faction and Anne Boleyn’s enemies, they seized on the king’s growing interest in Jane. She was advised never to become Henry’s mistress, as Anne Boleyn had done before her.
Indeed, it seems likely that Jane Seymour herself was seen merely as a means to an end by those promoting her rise to queenship. They hoped that through her, Catherine of Aragon’s daughter Mary—declared illegitimate following her parents‘ separation—could once again be included in the line of succession. Mary adhered to her mother’s faith, and a Catholic future queen of England was an enticing prospect for English Catholics.
Jane presented a humble, virtuous image—so different from Queen Anne: proud, haughty, and jealous. Anne continued to act as she had when she was Henry’s mistress. But now that Anne was his wife, Henry found her behavior irritating rather than fascinating. Anne also refused to turn a blind eye to his affairs and frequently confronted him about them. At one point, Henry is said to have told her that she should look the other way as better women than she had done before her.
The royal marriage was thus in dire straits. After Anne gave birth only to a daughter and all male children died before or shortly after birth, Henry began contemplating ways to rid himself of her. However, with his first wife still alive, he would have been compelled by law at the time to return to her. When Catherine died in 1536, Anne’s fate was sealed shortly thereafter. Just 11 days after Anne’s execution, Henry married Jane Seymour.
The Seymour Queen
This title is not entirely accurate since Jane Seymour was never crowned queen. Official reasons were given for this decision, but it is possible that Henry wanted to wait this time until his royal “baby machine” delivered and bore him a son.
Jane certainly presented herself as a queen sent from heaven: gentle, humble, obedient, and kind. Her motto was “Bound to obey and serve.” Despite having ambitious brothers in her corner (Edward and Thomas Seymour both rose to great heights—only to meet their ends on the scaffold years later), she largely stayed out of Henry’s state affairs, knowing full well he had not married her for her valuable advice. She dared to voice her opinion on only two matters of significance.
The Catholic faction pinned great hopes on Jane to help restore Princess Mary to favor with Henry. Mary had been declared illegitimate and excluded from the succession after her parents’ separation. Henry would only forgive her if she acknowledged the illegitimacy of the marriage between him and her mother—essentially declaring her mother Henry’s harlot and herself a bastard—and recognized Anne Boleyn as the true queen and her offspring as rightful heirs.
Mary resisted for years, enduring tremendous pressure. She spent many bitter years in isolation and became embittered even as a teenager. When Jane Seymour became queen, Mary was 20 years old. Jane worked hard to build a good relationship with Mary and even pleaded with Henry on her behalf. He reprimanded Jane, telling her she should concern herself with the future of her own children rather than those of other women. Jane replied that she was only concerned for peace within the royal family.
Despite Jane’s efforts, her influence achieved little success. Only when Mary made the public declaration demanded of her did Henry permit her return to court. However, she remained excluded from the line of succession, which was still reserved for Jane’s potential offspring.
Jane intervened a second time during the Pilgrimage of Grace when up to 40,000 people in northern England rose in rebellion. Dissatisfied with the break from Rome, the dissolution of monasteries, Thomas Cromwell being in power, Catherine of Aragon’s rejection, and Princess Mary’s exclusion from inheritance rights, the rebels led by lawyer Robert Aske posed one of the greatest crises of Henry’s reign. The king’s army was far smaller in number than the rebels’, forcing him to negotiate. He promised general amnesty and certain concessions. Once the uprising dissolved, however, Henry broke his promises.
Jane begged Henry on her knees to show mercy. In response, Henry delivered an ultimate blow: he reminded Jane that he had repeatedly told her not to meddle in his affairs. The unspoken warning—“Remember what happened to Anne Boleyn”—was clear. From then on, Jane refrained from political involvement.
Mother
In late May 1537, it was officially announced that Jane Seymour was pregnant. Thanksgiving hymns were sung in churches.
Jane reportedly developed a craving for quail, and Princess Mary—now on friendly terms with the queen—sent birds from her own garden to satisfy this desire.
In October, Jane withdrew from court life at Hampton Court Palace to prepare for the birth. On October 9th, labor began, and after three full days of labor, Jane gave birth to a son—the long-awaited male heir to the Tudor dynasty.
The child was christened Edward. Shortly after his birth, Jane fell gravely ill with puerperal fever—a dangerous postnatal infection that claimed the lives of many women at the time. It now threatened Jane’s life as well.
Initially, Jane seemed to recover but then suffered a sudden relapse. Despite receiving the best medical care available at the time, Jane Seymour could not withstand the fever. On October 24th, 1537—just twelve days after giving birth to her son—she died at about 28 years old (if we assume her birth year was 1509).
Henry was devastated and mourned deeply for Jane. He declared a period of royal mourning and ensured she was buried with full honors. Even years later, it was said that Henry loved Jane most among all his wives—a conclusion often drawn from his decision to be buried beside her upon his death.
However, it is likely that Jane simply held the advantage of having given him a male heir at last. The question of burial can also be easily explained (and serves as a preview for the rest of this series): Henry had divorced Catherine of Aragon; Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard were buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London following their executions; Anna of Cleves and Catherine Parr were still alive at his death. Who else remained for burial alongside him? Jane Seymour—a surviving son and eighteen months as queen that were too short for her to fall out of favor with Henry.
Today, Henry and Jane both rest beneath the quire floor in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. You can see the black marble slab marking their grave in the picture above. And you might have seen it in recent events that took place in that chapel, like the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
With Jane’s death ended not only her own life but also an era. She was the last wife of Henry VIII to bear the title Queen Consort of England. She was also the only one of Henry’s wives to receive a queen’s funeral. Though Henry married twice more after her passing, neither subsequent marriage produced another living heir.
Jane Seymour is often described as the only wife who truly loved Henry VIII—though she and especially her family undoubtedly pursued their own ambitions as well. Her short life was outwardly marked by humility, loyalty, and devotion to her husband and country.
Although she did not play a defining political or cultural role, she left an indelible mark on English history as the woman who finally gave Henry his much-longed-for heir. Her son Edward VI would later become king himself and—despite his early death—play an important role in establishing Protestantism in England.
Her influence on Henry VIII and English history should not be underestimated. Though her life ended too soon, Jane Seymour left behind a lasting legacy as queen and mother of a future king.