Jane Seymour (abt. 1509 - 1537)

Born about 1509 in Wolf Hall, Wiltshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Henry (Tudor) of England KG — married 30 May 1536 (to 24 Oct 1537) in Palace of Whitehall, Whitehall, London

Died 24 Oct 1537 at about age 28 in Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, Surrey, England

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Biography

Jane Seymour is Notable.

Jane Seymour was born about 1509, the daughter of John Seymour, Knt., of Wolf Hall, Wiltshire and Margery Wentworth. Her place of birth is unknown but is presumed to have been Wolf (or Wulf) Hall, Wiltshire.^[1][2]

Jane was a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon beginning in 1529 and then again to Anne Boleyn. During this time, Jane attracted the attention of King Henry VIII. He started actively courting Jane after Queen Anne had a miscarriage in January 1536, sending her "great presents", which Jane refused.^[1]

On 19 May (the day of Anne Boleyn's execution) a dispensation from prohibitions of affinity was issued for Jane to marry Henry (they were fifth cousins) and they were betrothed the following day.^[1] A private marriage was held 30 May 1536 in the queen's closet at Whitehall^[1][2] (formerly known as York Palace).^[3]

Janes was introduced as the new queen at court during the festivities for Whitsuntide (the week following the 7th Sunday after Easter). A fall coronation was planned but was postponed because of an outbreak of plague at Westminster. Her family benefited greatly from Jane's marriage, both her brothers were given generous amounts of land and titles. Her brother Edward was made Viscount Beauchamp in 1536, Earl of Hertford in 1537, and privy councillor in May 1537; and her brother Thomas was made a gentleman of privy chamber and was knighted in 1537.^[1]

At the beginning of the insurrection referred to as the Pilgrimage of Grace it was recorded that:

"the Queen threw herself on her knees before the King and begged him to restore the abbeys, but he told her, prudently enough, to get up, and he had often told her not to meddle with his affairs, referring to the late Queen, which was enough to frighten a woman who is not very secure."^[4][5]

Jane's father died in December 1536 and Jane and her six brothers and three sisters are recorded on a memorial to her father at Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.^[6][7]

After a difficult delivery, Jane gave birth to a son, Edward (the future Edward VI), on 12 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace.^[1][8]

She died from complications of childbirth at about 12 pm, on 24 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace, aged 28 years.^[9] After elaborate preparations of her body and a lengthy vigil, she was buried on 12 November 1537 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.^[1][10] Henry was later buried at her side.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Beer, Barrett L. "Jane [née Jane Seymour] (1508/9–1537), queen of England, third consort of Henry VIII." in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. November 13, 2018. Oxford University Press. Date of access 10 Apr 2021, w/subs. at ODNB.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013), vol. V, page 212, TUDOR 15, Henry VIII of England.
3. ↑ 'Henry VIII: May 1536, 26-31', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 10, January-June 1536, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1887), pp 402-420. Item 1000 BHO.
4. ↑ 'Henry VIII: October 1536, 21-25', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 11, July-December 1536, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1888), pp 315-349. Item 860 BHO.
5. ↑ 'Henry VIII: December 1536, 1-5', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 11, July-December 1536, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1888), pp 492-513. Item 1250 BHO.
6. ↑ Sir Thomas Phillipps. Monumental Inscriptions of Wiltshire 1822. Wiltshire Record Society. Volume 53. Edited by Peter Sherlock. 2000, pp 171-172 pdf.
7. ↑ John Aubrey. Wiltshire. The Topographical Collections of John Aubrey, F.R.S., 1659-70, with Illustrations. (Longman & Co., London, 1862) pages 375-376.
8. ↑ 'Henry VIII: October 1537, 11-15', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 12 Part 2, June-December 1537, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1891), pp 309-324. Item 889 BHO.
9. ↑ "Henry VIII: November 1537, 11-15," in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 12 Part 2, June-December 1537, ed. James Gairdner (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1891), 370-386. British History Online, accessed November 22, 2021, BHO.
10. ↑ 'Henry VIII: November 1537, 11-15', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 12 Part 2, June-December 1537, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1891), pp 370-386. Item 1060 BHO.

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013), vol. IV, pages 618-620, SEYMOUR 19, John Seymour.
• St. Maur, Richard Harold. Annals of the Seymours: being a History of the Seymour Family. (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., 1902). Online at HathiTrust.
• Wikipedia: Jane Seymour.
• The Dictionary of National Biography. Vol X. Howard-Kenneth. Reprint 1922. Jane Seymour, pp 678-680 Archive.org.
• Earl of Cardigan, "The Wardens of Savernake Forest Part II - The Seymour Wardens" in Wiltshire Archaeological and History Magazine, (1947). Online at Archive.org, pages 514-520.