Jane Seymour

Born in 1509, died at the 24th of October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace.

Jane Seymour was the daughter and fifth child of Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall in Wiltshire († 1536) and Margaret Wentworths († 1550). Her father served the Tournai campaign of 1513 and conveyed Henry VIII to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. He was made a knight of the body and later a gentleman of the king's bedchamber. These honorific positions at court made it possible to not only talk to the king in private but also have appointments with Henry VIII and his family at the court. Three of his eight children gained honour and prominence throughout history: His eldest son Edward as Duke of Somerset and as Lord Protector (during the minority of Edward VI), his son Thomas as Lord Admiral, and his daughter Jane by marrying Henry VIII of England.

Jane Seymour was rumoured to have a love affair with Henry VIII who was at that point still married to Anne Boleyn (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 16th century ideal woman or at least 16th century male’s ideal woman (ibid. 585). Appearing less extraordinary than Anne Boleyn or Catherine of Aragon from the outside, Jane Seymour combines extraordinary character traits such as being 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.).

In fact, she was the third wife of Henry VIII and mother of Edward VI. 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).

Sources:

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

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/seymour.html

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/tudor_15.htm

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

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