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Jane Seymour - Historical profile
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| A member of the king's privy council Sir John Russell said: "that the richer queen Jane was dressed the fairer she appeared; on the contrary, the better Anne Boleyn was apparelled the worse she looked: but that queen Jane was the fairest of all Henry's wives," However Chapuys said :"She is of middle height and nobody thinks that she has much beauty. Her complexion is so whitish that she may be called rather pale........she is not very intelligent and is said to be rather haughty" David Starkey says: "Apparently, her beautiful, pale complexion was not enough to offset her large nose, small eyes and compressed lips. It was Jane Seymour's virtuous and gentle nature that attracted the king for she was indeed a "plain Jane." Yet, she, like Anne Boleyn, had lured the king away from his wife. But while Anne would be portrayed as a witch, Jane would be forever remembered as a saint." -oOo- As Jane was twenty-six or seven when she came to Henry's attention, according to the marriage customs of the time, she was likely on her way to a lifetime of unmarried spinsterhood. Girls were betrothed young, often at birth or shortly thereafter, during the Tudor era, and were usually married as soon as they were considered old enough, shortly after menarche. A woman of Jane's age was considered to be of "mature years", well past the point where she was likely to become a bride. There is some conjecture that she had been betrothed as a child, but by the time she came to Henry's attention, she was well established as a young woman of noble birth who had little chance of being married. Jane's brief reappearance at court, prior to the final fall of Anne Boleyn, was marked with two confrontations with Henry's second Queen. One incident occurred when Anne saw that Jane wore a miniature given to her by Henry, a locket containing a portrait of his mother. Anne was enraged, and tore it from Jane's neck, causing a slight injury. The second incident was the infamous scene after Anne discovered Henry and Jane embracing, setting off the temper tantrum that some said led to the miscarriage of the son Anne was carrying at the time. There are various schools of thought as to the actual involvement of Jane in her whirlwind courtship and rise to the position of Queen. One theory is that she was unintelligent and was simply used as a pawn by her ambitious brothers. Others believe that, as her motto "Bound to Obey and Serve" stated, she followed the orders and desires of the King without question, despite any fears she might have -- and fears would be expected, considering the fates of Henry's first two Queens. Queen Katherine of Aragon had been banished and mistreated for years prior to her death, and Anne Boleyn was rapidly sliding to her final defeat. Lastly, the opinion was held by some, Anne Boleyn among them, that Jane was scheming and sly, and that she had deliberately attracted the King's attention as his love for Anne Boleyn faded, actively assisting her family it its rise to a position of power. Jane was not a diarist -- in fact, it is suspected that like most women of the time, she could only write enough to sign her name -- so her opinion of her meteoric rise to prominence is unknown, as is her comprehension of it and her possible participation in it. From Victorian Historian Agnes Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England" (1850)
 Mary of Habsburg (1505 -1558), also named Mary, Maria, or Marie of Hungary, of Austria, of Castille, or of Burgundy (sister of Emperor Charles V & niece of Margaret of Austria) said : The King had " paid considerable attention to [Jane] Seymour before her predecessor [Anne Boleyn] was dead which, along with the fact that none of those executed with her except the organist [Mark Smeaton] admitted the deed, any more than she had, made people think he invented the ploy just to get rid of her. Nevertheless the woman herself suffered no great injustice by this for she was well known to be a worthless character... I think that women will not be all that happy if such ways of going on become the custom - and with good reason. And although I do not intend to take the risk myself, yet for the sake of the female sex I will pray like the rest that God will protect us" |  Jane, from portrait of Henry VIII and his parents (notice the poodle on her skirt)
27 years old when the king began his courtship, Jane had been at court for 6 years. Although her virtuous behavior was praised by everyone, Spanish Ambassador Chapuys thought it unlikely that she was still chaste. According to Chapuys, Jane, "being an Englishwoman and having been so long" at court, where immorality was widespread, could not be as virtuous as was popularly assumed. Chapuys stated that king was not troubled by Jane's chastity or lack thereof "since he may marry her on condition she is a maid, and when he wants a divorce there will be plenty of witnesses ready to testify that she was not." Despite the speculation, there is no proof that Jane had sexual dalliances prior to her relationship with King Henry.  Detail of a portrait of Henry VIII's family, which is located in Hampton Court. Jane is seated next to Henry, despite having been dead for several years and Henry married to Catherine Parr at the time the portrait was commissioned in 1545.  Miniature of Jane by Lucas Horenbout
   Jane's siblings, (left to right) Elizabeth Seymour (Identification of this portrait is disputed, in March 2008 David Starkey identified this as Katherine Howard but it is identified by others as Elizabeth), Edward Seymour (Lord Protector of England), and Thomas Seymour (Lord High Admiral of England), all benefited greatly from their sister's raise to the throne and her son, Edward VI as well. |
| Jane Seymour's letter and signature announcing the birth of Prince Edward 12th October 1537 Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well, and for as much as by the inestimable goodness and grace of Almighty God, we be delivered and brought in childbed of a prince, concieved in most lawful matrimony between my Lord the King's majesty and us, doubting not but that for love and affection which you bear unto us and to the commonwealth of this realm, the knowledge thereof should be joyous and glad tidings unto you, we have thought good to certify you of the same. To the intent you might not only render unto God condign thanks and prayers for so great a benefit but also continually pray for the long continuance and preservation of the same here in this life to the honour of God, joy and pleasure of my Lord the King and us, and the universal weal, quiet and tranquillity of this whole realm.  Jane the Quene | LITERATURE: Non-fiction
Fiction
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 Jane's Grave, along side Henry VIII |  |
| "Here a Phoenix lieth, whose death To another Phoenix gave breath It is to be lamented much, The world at once ne'er knew two such." Epitaph of Jane Seymour, who's symbol was the phoenix. | |
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Edited by MsSquirrly
70 words added
view changes
- complete history)
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