Jane Seymour

1509-1537. Third wife of Henry VIII, mother of Edward VI.

Jane Seymour was the daughter and fifth child of Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall in Wiltshire (died 1536) and Margaret Wentworth (died 1550). He - and the members of the Seymour family - gained prominence at the court of Henry VIII.

Jane Seymour was rumoured to have a love affair with Henry VIII who was at that point still married to Anne Boleyn (cf. Starkey 585-587). In 1536 Jane Seymour was first introduced to the court as a young lady which is similar to how the relationship of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn began (ibid. 587). But in contrast to his first and second wife, Jane Seymour appeared to be less extraordinary at least in terms of appearance (ibid. 585). However, as his second wife miscarried, Henry’s love for Jane Seymour grew (ibid. 584) and she became the ideal 16th-century woman or at least 16th-century male’s ideal woman (ibid. 585): She was calm, quiet, soft-spoken and extremely submissive (ibid.). Jane Seymour aimed at not being one of Henry’s many mistresses but at being his only wife (ibid. 592). She was officially proclaimed Queen on 4 June 1537 (ibid.).

Although Henry VIII married six women, Jane Seymour was the only one who really fulfilled his wishes: giving birth to a male heir on 11 October 1537 (ibid. 607). Edward VI was born at Hampton Court Palace which is where Jane Seymour died a few days after his birth (A&E Television Networks). She died 24 October 1537 at Hampton Court.

Sources:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Seymour

Hanson, Marilee. "Jane Seymour – Facts, Biography, Information & Portraits." English History, http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/seymour.html.

"Jane Seymour." English Monarchs, http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/tudor_15.htm.

“Jane Seymour.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 20 Sept. 2016, https://www.biography.com/people/jane-seymour-39675.

Starkey, David. Six wives: the queens of Henry VIII. Chatto & Windus, 2003.