Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife, didn't last long, but she delivered. She married Henry 11 days after Anne Boleyn’s execution, and died giving him a longed-for son.

But was Jane a helpless victim or secret schemer? Probably a bit of both.

Image: Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein the Younger © Bridgeman Art Library

Why did Henry marry Jane?

We don’t know much about Jane Seymour's motivations. Like all of Henry VIII's wives, she has left very little personal testimony behind to tell us how she felt.

Her family were rich, but relatively powerless (until Jane’s marriage sealed their royal connections), so they may have pushed her forward at court.

Image: Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

No great beauty

Jane’s looks weren’t her strong point, if we choose to believe the Spanish ambassador. He described her as 'of middle stature and no great beauty'. He even speculated about her virtue, wondering if it had been Jane’s talents in the bedroom that had first attracted the King!

Henry apparently wrote affectionately to Jane, a lady-in-waiting at court, while he was still married to Anne Boleyn.

A swift seduction

Jane first appeared at court as early as 1529, and served as a lady-in-waiting, probably to both Katherine of Aragon and afterwards Anne Boleyn. She would have witnessed many of the dangers and rewards of a relationship with the King at first hand.

Henry’s courtship of Jane may have started as early as 1534, and the King certainly wrote and sent her gifts the following year. Jane seems to have – demurely or tactically – refused the King’s advances.

But their relationship must have been established by the time Anne Boleyn was in the Tower of London: Henry and Jane married only 11 days after Anne’s execution.

Left: Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger, © National Portrait Gallery

The birth of Prince Edward

Jane provided Henry with what he most wanted: a son.

Prince Edward was born at Hampton Court Palace in the early hours of 12 October 1537. Jane developed post-natal complications after a difficult birth.

She witnessed part of Edward's elaborate christening procession at Hampton Court but her condition worsened.

The death of Jane Seymour

Jane died around midnight at Hampton Court, two weeks after giving birth to Edward, aged 28. Henry was heartbroken.

Image: Portrait of Edward VI as a child, Hans Holbein the Younger © Bridgeman Images

Victim or schemer: Which was Jane?

Jane's marriage to Henry VIII advanced the fortunes of the ambitious Seymour family. Was Jane powerless to resist the King, or did she plot with her family to become Queen?

Victim

By dying at the height of her 'success' Jane left the impression of perfection; a loyal queen who dutifully provided an heir to the throne and sacrificed her life doing so. Perhaps she really was simply a meek victim of Henry’s dynastic quest.

Schemer

On the other hand, Jane may have skilfully managed the King’s courtship to achieve her own ambitions or to place her family on the centre-stage of court politics, just like Anne Boleyn. We just remember her differently because Jane and Anne had different fates. 

Tudor line

The Seymour family would continue to play their part in the dangerous political word of the Tudors, however both Jane's brothers would eventually be executed for treason. Henry VIII's long-awaited son would succeed him to the throne as Edward VI.

Image: King Henry VII; King Henry VIII; King Edward VI, © National Portrait Gallery, London