185: Jane Seymour
English Queen and Third Wife of Henry VIII
Born: c.1509, England, Present-day United Kingdom
Died: 24 October 1537, Hampton Court Palace, England, Present-day United Kingdom
She has the distinction of giving birth to his only surviving son Edward VI—unfortunately she died from complications of childbirth and Edward was sickly his whole life dying aged fifteen.
Jane served as a lady-in-waiting to both Catherine and Anne—Henry’s two previous wives.
Jane was a lot like Anne in that she refused to become Henry’s mistress and only his wife. They married in a private ceremony eleven days after Anne was beheaded.
Jane is seen as responsible for helping restore Mary—Catherine’s daughter—to the king’s favor. After the divorce, which for all intents and purposes made Mary an illegitimate princess, Mary and Henry had had a strained relationship to the say the least. However, Jane’s sunny disposition and overall positive attitude helped Mary, and the newly motherless baby Elizabeth, from being ousted entirely.
Jane’s brother Edward served as his nephew’s regent during Edward VI’s reign and one of her other brother’s was the complete a****** Thomas Seymour—Katherine Parr’s fourth husband. Thomas became entangled in the lives of not only Katherine Parr, but also Jane Grey and Elizabeth I as well.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
History’s Naughty Bits by Karen Dolby
The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
The Other Tudors by Philippa Jones
The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Wier
Kings & Queens of England and Scotland by Plantagenet Somerset Fry
Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics by Eleanor Herman
The Creation of Anne Boleyn: A New Look at England's Most Notorious Queen by Susan Bordo
The Royal Wardrobe: Peek Into the Wardrobes of History's Most Fashionable Royals by Rosie Harte
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies by Natasha Tidd
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