Dear Folk,
On October 12, 1537 a king got the son he wanted but lost the wife he loved. Today marks the birth of Edward IV, son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.
Jane was born sometime about 1509. She probably was brought into King Henry VIII's court to wait upon Queen Catherine of Aragon. Catherine, you may remember, was Henry's first wife and the mother of Mary Tudor – "Bloody Mary" (see "How Does Your Bloody Garden Grow"). Catherine seemed unable to give Henry a son. Okay, we all now know that it is the dad who determines the sex of the child but they did not know that then. Henry fell under the enchantment of Anne Boleyn (her six fingers seemed to be a wild enough inducement) who promised to give Henry everything he wanted. Henry promptly dumped Catherine and tried for a divorce. The pope said "no way" (but in Latin) and Henry invented the Church of England. Jane was transferred, sort of, when Catherine was put aside and Anne Boleyn rose to become queen.
In September 1535 we have record of Henry staying over at the Seymour family manor in Wiltshire, England. There is some romantic speculation that Henry first noticed the quiet and charming Jane there. By February 1536 Henry was for sure smitten with her. Anne Boleyn had given Henry a daughter, whom he did not value, Elizabeth. Anne was also allegedly "seeing" one of the courtiers. In either case, no son or wandering queen, Henry was up for a bit of looking around, himself.
He found in Jane someone scholarly, quiet, calm and gentle. What Jane felt when she noticed Henry noticing her is not recorded. Surely she was well aware that Henry had a ferocious temper and appetite for all things of life. His power must have been daunting, his gentleness in courting her must have been unexpected and unnerving. He played the wounded and aggrieved king, jilted by his scheming wife, to the hilt with her. He was, after all, King of England and he said he loved her. Anne was still queen but that was obviously going to change rapidly.
Was she afraid of the tenuous position on the board Henry's queens had held and she was about to assume? She was certainly aware of the undercurrents at court for she had been privy to many of both prior queens' secrets. She was no giddy youth; she was intelligent and mature with no known suitors besides the guy who wrote "Greensleeves."
So Anne Boleyn went to the block. Within 24 hours of that, Jane Seymour and Henry VIII were formally betrothed. On May 30, 1536, they were married. And Oprah says that men should wait at least a year after a divorce to even start dating again!
Unlike Catherine and Anne, Jane was not formally crowned Queen of England. I think he was beginning to check things out in the son department before he made that even bigger commitment.
In July of 1536, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, died. "Fitz" means son of; "roy" is king. It was Henry's illegitimate son by his mistress Elizabeth Blount. Young Henry was only 17. Mistress? Henry VIII was on wife number three and had a mistress, too? It was good to be the king. Things were noticeably tense around the palace.
In early 1537 Jane announced she was expecting. Of course, Henry indulged any and all whims that Jane had. Dill pickles, peanut butter and crawfish poorboys, yes ma'am! King Henry was convinced that Jane, the "first true wife" he had, was carrying a boy. I don't know if she was "carrying high" or low. I forget these things. Anyway the soothsayers said their sooth and predicted a boy.
Jane went into labor around the first week of October. The labor was long and protracted. There was talk of a cesarean but from all accounts it did not happen. Jane hung in there and delivered at last a baby boy, Edward, on October 12, 1537 at Hampton Court Palace. He was christened on October 15th. Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was named godmother. Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, also was given a part in the ceremony. Jane was alive at the christening but was weak. Her health failed. She died on October 24, 1537.
Henry was heartbroken. He had Jane buried in the tomb he was having built for himself at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. And although Henry was to have three more wives, Jane was the only one who was buried with him. Henry passed away from to tuberculosis. Edward only lived to be sixteen before he also died of TB.
Here is a Child ballad speaking about today:
DEATH OF QUEEN JANE
Queen Jane lay in labor full nine days or more
'Til the women were so tired, they could stay no longer there (2x)
"Good women, good women, good women as ye be
Do open my right side and find my baby"
"Oh no," said the women, "That never can be
We will send for King Henry, and hear what he say.
"King Henry was sent for, King Henry did come
"What do ail you, my lady, your eyes look so dim?"
"King Henry, King Henry, will you do one thing for me?
That's to open my right side and find my baby"
"Oh no," said King Henry, "That's a thing I'll never do
If I lose the Flower of England, I shall lose the branch too"
King Henry went mourning and so did his men
And so did the dear baby, for Queen Jane did die then
And how deep was the mourning, how black were the bands
How yellow, yellow were the flamboys they carried in their hands
There was fiddling, aye, and dancing on the day the babe was born
But poor Queen Jane beloved lay cold as a stone.
Child #170
So what have we learned? Child birth was difficult even for queens? Disease takes off more kings than swords and daggers? Fitzroy means illegitimate son of the king? Dill pickles, peanut butter and crawfish poorboys can build royalty? How about modern medicine sure can be helpful if you can find a good HMO? Okay, that was a trick question: there are no good HMOs.
So if you are out there seducing a king, hoping for a son, founding your own church, or just writing a new version of "Greensleeves", and you wish to send these pregnant messages on to others, do so but leave my name and sig attached.
BTW, did you know that "Greensleeves" can be sung to the tune of "Yackety-Yack?" Nevermind, I'll do it for you sometime.
Carrying my flamboy in my hand,
J. Ellsworth Weaver
SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats