On Tuesday 30th May, just 11 days after the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour in the Queen’s Closet at York Place.
The couple had become betrothed on the 20th May, a day after Anne’s execution, but did not marry immediately because “the precipitance of his new union with Jane ‘sounded ill in the ears of his people'”1– hmm, 11 days still seems extraordinarily fast to me!
David Starkey writes of how Jane was probably kept in seclusion at Chelsea between the betrothal and her wedding day but she then took her place at the King’s side as Queen. Sir John Russell wrote to Lord Lisle:-
“On Friday last [2nd June] the Queen sat abroad as Queen, and was served by her own servants, who were sworn that same day. The King came in his great boat to Greenwich that day with his privy chamber, and the Queen and the ladies in the great barge.”2
The chronicler, Charles Wriothesley, writes of how, on the 4th June, Whitsunday, “the said Jane Seymor was proclaymed Queene at Greenewych, and went in procession, after the King, with a great traine of ladies followinge after her, and also ofred at masse as Queen, and began her howsehold that daie, dyning in her chamber of presence under the cloath of estate.”3
Jane Seymour was now Queen of England. She had had an easier start than her predecessor, Anne Boleyn, who had waited for 7 years to be Queen; Jane’s wait had been just a few weeks and her predecessor was dead and had been labelled as a traitor and wh*re. As Yann, an entrant in our recent article competition, said, “Whereas the crowned, the most happy falcon was no more, a Phoenix was rising.”
You can read more about Jane Seymour on our Jane Seymour Bio Page – click here.
Notes and Sources
- Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, David Starkey
- LP x.1047
- Wriothesley’s Chronicle, p44
Honestly, I’m doubtful Henry VIII cared a fig about what people thought about his marriage to Jane. I believe he waited a week and a half after Anne’s death to marry Jane because he wanted to be sure no one could doubt or contest the new Queen Consort’s position.
He’d learned his lesson from the disaster of his “marriage” to Anne Boleyn. He’d secretly wed Anne, already pregnant, while he was still married to Katherine of Aragon. This could not have sat well with anybody except Henry and/or Anne’s strongest supporters. I’m sure it had some bearing on Europe’s ambivalent acceptance of Anne as Queen and Elizabeth as Princess of Wales.
When Henry wed Jane, Katherine had been dead since January and Anne had been dead over a week. Jane had no secret pregnancy that needed a rushed marriage to llegitimate.
Henry’s wedding to Jane may not have been in the best taste, but no one could deny the king was truly single and free to wed.
Claire,
The people of England must have been reeling! First, Good Queen Katherine was pushed aside, then our own beloved Queen Anne painted as wh*re, Adultress, Incestous and a Witch, and now the people have a new queen?
If I were in Queen Jane’s velvet slippers, I would have been very, very afraid of this man. I am sure the public accepted her with cheering and caps trown in the air, but I still would have been afraid.
I know, what a whirlwind! The people must have been gossiping, mustn’t they!
‘The Year of Three Queens’ –
His first Queen without any underlying problems that may rear their heads at a later date as with the previous two:-
Katherine of Aragon’s previous marriage to his brother,
Anne Boleyn’s previous contract to Henry Percy? his affair with her sister, their bigamous marriage? then all the trumped up accusations of witchcraft, incest and adultery, take your pick.
So now we have Jane Seymore the epitomy of womanhood, virginal and no baggage, with Henry widowed by two wives within 5 monthes, there was no Ex spouse to impede this marriage. So if she hadn’t had produced the long awaited for son and heir, what reasons would the King and his council have found to rid himself of this one when his fancy fell else were. Although I have never believed that Jane was the ‘goody-two-shoes’ she has been made out to be, in my mind she was as scheming and conniving as her father and brothers, I think Henry would have tired of this so called ‘shrinking violet’ very quickly. She saved him the problem though, by dying from childbirth fever.
Its worth noting though that all Henry’s marriages were quite, simple affairs conducted behind closed doors. Considering the flamboyant extravagance in everything he did, his marriages were in complete contrast. What does that say about the man. To me it says that marriage was something that had to be done to secure his lineage, and if the wife did not do what was expected of her, well lets have another one and another one, until the right one is found, so we wont waste money on grand ceremony, because she may only be around for a short while! Money better spent in other areas maybe,such as glorifying himself. Keep up the good work Claire.
Well, Henry paid for coronations for two of his wives … so I don’t think it was greed that made him skimp on the weddings. I think, instead, that after such a huge cost and only getting daughters, he figured he would save the money until after a son was born … only Jane died before she could be crowned. Chapuys noted one of the points that you made: that, if Henry changed his mind, grounds would be found to annul this marriage also (he said that everyone was acting as though Jane was a virgin, but if Henry wanted an exit, people would swear she was not).
No, I agree, I dont think it was greed either, as you say he had paid for two, three coronations if you include his own, and Henry loved to show off his generousity at every opportunity, with his no expense spared banquets jousts etc. It just seems strange that he never felt the need to do so for his marriages, even his first one, when even he couldn’t envisaged he would have another 5. He never really needed much of an excuse to ‘party’ and what better excuse than a wedding. It just seems that on the list of things to celebrate in his mind, marriage is close to the bottom, a formality to go through as quickly and with as little fuss as possible. Mind you after 6 they probably became slightly boring!!
Gee, was Anne’s blood even cold when the seamstresses, some of whom trained under her, started working on Jane’s dress?
I am actually surprised that Henry, a really tacky so and so, didn’t have the engagement party at the Tower of London, at the block, in front of Anne, and give Jane an engagement ring right as the swordsman struck poor Anne’s head off!
“Here you go, dear. And remember THIS, if you don’t manage to squeeze out a son in short order!!”
475 or so years later, and Henry STILL manages to inspire a LOT of anger and disgust!
Ha ha, love the comments.
You known it never fails to amaze me the complete contrast in the Kings personality, from that young, well educated , even sensitive person, to the self-obsessed, tyranical monster. A real living Jekyll and Hyde. Those bangs on the head from jousting injuries did him the world of good…..NOT!!!
Henry was already in “tacky mode” when he exiled his wife, a respectable, blameless woman who’d always been a good “helpmeet” and political advantage to him, and exiled his daughter in order to elevate Anne Boleyn (basically a “nobody”) via a bigamous marriage. Change the state religion, rob the clergy, execute trusted friends and supporters. Force his daughter to accept a menial position as a servant to his new daughter by the second wife, etc.
I realize this is a site devoted to the study of Anne Boleyn from a fandom perspective. But Anne’s mistreatment by Henry VIII was simply another murder disguised as execution. One of many in a line of victims, many of them well loved by Henry at one time or another.
At the time he wed Jane, Anne was just the latest victim.
I take offence at the sentence “I realize this is a site devoted to the study of Anne Boleyn from a fandom perspective”. This is not a website committed to the veneration of Anne and is not an Anne fan club, my mission is to research the life of Anne Boleyn, share what I find and debunk the many myths that are out there about her.
I agree with everyone’s comments. I would have loved to have known what the people were thinking and saying about their King, I doubt they knew whether they were coming or going, One minute they loved Queen Catherine, then Queen Anne and now Jane.
Jane Seymour was a good third choice for Henry. I think he believed she would live a long time and bear him the sons he so desperatley wanted. I didn’t think he gave even the slightest thought about what he would do if she died. Which she did, unfortunatley, leaving poor little Edward alone without a true mothers love.
Again I say, Henry wed Jany as fast as he could. I doubt the love, in my opinion it just happened because Henry was crazy hahahaha . I just can’t understand, but in all wifes, I am sure that jane was the least belovod. Henry was impatient to mary again and finished this history…
I tend to think of Jane Seymour as Henry’s “rebound girl” in the sense that Jane had more in common with Katherine of Aragon in looks and personality.
I once read an interesting study about men who cheated on their first wives and either left or were thrown out by their first wives upon discovery. Most of the men, later in life, regreted their affairs and admitted that, had their first wives been willing to reconcile and forgive them, they would have gone home. More often than not the new relationship with the “other woman” didn’t satisfy and ended badly.
I believe Henry was fascinated by Anne Boleyn and that he nurtured passion for her. Overall, however, Anne just wasn’t the woman he really wanted to be married to.. Anne wasn’t “good wife material” for that era. Anne wanted loyalty and fidelity. She harbored career aspirations (as a politician) of her own.
Anne Boleyn really was “too much woman” for a man like Henry Viii who might have experienced attraction to her wit, charm, and political astuteness, but, at the end of the day, preferred the comfortable familiarity of a spouse more fitting his traditional first wife. Katherine of Aragon understood when to press an advantage and when to defer to Henrys moods and whims. She was certainly Henry’s equal in terms of education, but she knew when to respect Henry’s rank and let him “shine” before his people. Katherine knew how to benignly overlook Henry’s indiscretions.
Anne’s uncomprmising all-or-nothing nature propelled her all the 7-year way to the throne, but it also helped propell her to the scaffold less than 3 years later.
Jane offered Henry the more traditional, old-fashioned comfort to which he was accustomed during his first marriage. She was far more displomatic than Anne, and certainly more conservative and less prone to drama. In general appearance Jane was more the “style” of beauty Henry preferred. Even her political ties made her desireable. Jane was English and had no political agenda to promote through her position as Queen Consort. She also promoted domestic harmony in the King’s family, probably easing a large thorn in Henry’s side.
In the end, I think Henry knew his marriage to Anne was a mistake. He just would have rather killed Anne than admit she really wasn’t the great love of his life (OR that she was but he was too flawed a human being to live up to that love.) Jane was more “comfortable” to marry.
I once read an interesting study about men who cheated on their first wives and either left or were thrown out by their first wives upon discovery. Most of the men, later in life, regreted their affairs and admitted that, had their first wives been willing to reconcile and forgive them, they would have gone home. More often than not the new relationship with the “other woman” didn’t satisfy and ended badly.”
Henry constantly cheated on Katherine, he married her out of duty, not choice, so I don’t think that applies some how. Although they were happy in their youth, her string of miscarriages and consistent fasting took their tole on his once attractive queen.
From the descriptions of Katherine and Jane, they don’t appear to be similar in looks. Katherine was supposedly beautiful when younger, with long russet hair. Jane on the other hand was plain and blonde. Nothing much is said of Jane because she wasn’t striking either in looks or personality.
Henry is said to have remarked on the looks of his 5th wife Katherine Howard, saying she was more to his liking with regards to looks than any of his other wives. Katherine Howard was a voluptuous brunette, with a personality more like Anne Boleyn’s – although less educated and/or religious.
During and after Anne’s execution, Henry rushed into a marriage with another, and denied her very existence, that to me strikes more of rebound than with Katherine. Henry was well known to be changeable, but he never changed his mind about divorcing Katherine, nor did he ask her to return.
Maybes Katherine was lucky in that she didn’t have to endure his sudden personality change as Anne did, a once kind and loving king suddenly a tyrant on the verge of madness,
Henry married Anne out of duty, too. Anne was pregnant with his child and he wanted the child born in wedlock. In fact, I’m inclined to believe Henry may very well have been experiencing “second thoughts” about Anne (NOT because he wished to reconcile with Katherine, but because, with the passage of time, Anne’s “wild child” persona was wearing on him.) Anne’s willingness to consummate the relationship may very well have been a desperate ploy to keep her hold on the king and it worked. He married her and he crowned her because he wanted the baby (presumed male) Anne was carrying. When the child didn’t meet his expectations, the marriage went downhill.
Henry was unfaithful to Anne, too. He had several affairs during his marriage to Anne, including the flirtation with Jane Seymour. It’s not like Jane chased after Henry and begged him to notice her while he was still wed to Anne.
I didn’t say Katherine and Jane looked exactly alike, just that there was a resemblance. Fair complexion, lighter coloring, etc.
Hery did not deny Jane’s very existence. Henry kept Jane’s memory alive well into his dotage, portraying Jane’s image in a family portrait while he was married to Catherine Parr.
I agree Henry did not wish to return to Katherine of Aragon. Even if he had, he’d appointed a whole new government proclaiming he couldn’t have her. However, it’s not an accident he found comfort with a woman like Jane (sedate, discreet, and a gentlewoman) much more like his wife than Anne Boleyn. .
What an interesting discussion! I’ve always maintained that Henry was an incurable romantic; he was searching for the ‘perfect woman’, and while that woman doesn’t really exist, she probably would have been a combination of all 6 of his wives. He was so young when he married KoA (17); he may have believed himself in love, but was he really? IMO, he wasn’t. His chivalrous nature compelled him to “save her”, and so he did. His cheating occurred primarily while she was pregnant, but that was SOP for kings in those times; sex during pregnancy was considered dangerous.
However, I think if that hadn’t been the case, and Henry was with that “perfect woman” he was dreaming about, he would have remained faithful. He believed in passionate, fulfilling, can’t live without each other love; he just was never able to find it.
Combine that lifelong kind of disillusionment with the obesessive need for a male heir, throw in the absolute power of a king, and you get Henry.
Anne definately was too much of a women for Henry, exciting and challenging to chase, but too much to handle when caught.. As soon as that crown was placed on her head he wanted her to conform to the ‘norm’ which wasnt in her nature to do so completely. Jane modrled herself more on Kathine of Aragon, and had she survived the birth of her son, which would have placed her firmly on the throne until the end, do you think Jane would have stayed so ‘obedient and complacent’, or do you think that ‘still waters run deep’ and the phoenix in her emblem really would rise
I’m doubtful Edward’s birth would have changed Jane’s personality. None of the Seymours were what could be called “flamboyant” and that was quite probably why Jane’s brothers remained in favor with Henry long after jane’s death. The Seymours didn’t compete with Henry (for attention, admiration, popularity)
I think Jane would definitely have felt more secure of her position after Edward’s birth, but I’m doubtful her overall attitude and behavior would have changed all that much as a result. Henry would have believed Edward’s birth and survival proved his marriage to Jane was “valid” and that MAY have increased Jane’s influence (over Henry and over the Court.)
Jane wasn’t an Anne Boleyn disguised as a lamb. She didn’t do the hysterics and drama, it wasn’t her style.
I am sorry but I can not completely agree with you.
Henry in my honest opinion was a kind of “child-man”. If he doesn’t like something he just cut it off of his life. I can just believe in two loves; Katherine and Anne B.
I can agree and you said that Jane was a kind of women that he nedeed ; calm . He was sure that Jane was not able to desagree with him in front of ‘the people’. The only Henry problem’s was that Anne have never been shamed to be against him.
And this history of Henry marry woman like Katherine I completely not agree. He had married Howard. She was a ‘child’ very excessive.
Henry married lots of times not for love, but yes for a son.
No, I dont think her personality would have changed either,it would remain the same, she was just keeping it under wraps. She had her own agenda to play. She was not as vivacious and as noticable as Anne, but there are many ways to achieve what you are aiming for. When the ever wandering eye of the king fell on Jane , she was fully encouraged and supported by the men in her family, if not pushed to bring it about. Maybe the Seymores did keep a low profile at court, not noticed by Henry as they probabley had nothing to offer him, until he started to court Jane,then seeing how high you could rise when in favour, they became fuelled by greed and power as everyone else with the added bonus of a grandson/nephew on the throne.
. They were at court,Jane too, when Anne was in her decline, they saw what was happening, and began a more suble approach, using some of Anne tactics also, Jane refused his gifts and would not become his mistress.
Henry could never question his validity of this marriage as his two previous wives were dead, with or without a son, unless as before, he got his henchmen to trump up false charges, as with Anne.
If she had survived the birth of their son, she would have become untouchable, and then I think we would have seen the real Jane, I am not suggesting she would become a female version of her husband, God forbid, but I like to think she had more about her than the complacent wife and door mat shes portrayed as. As for the Seymores staying in favour after Jane’s death, that was more to do with the facts that their sister had given the son he desired. They were Edwards close relatives, and Henry knew that when he died that Edward would be in safe hands, because of the power and prestige it would bestow on them being Uncles to the King, Jane was no Anne Boleyn, she was something quite different, pity we never got to find out!
I think Henry had a lot of problems with Anne, not just her disagreeing with him in front of people. But he would have put up with whatever problems he had if Anne had safely delivered a live healthy son.
Yes, Henry wed Howard. And killed her. Just like Anne. That must be proof positive he never loved Katherine of Aragon or Jane Seymour.
Henry would not have made Anne a queen in her own right if he didn’t still want her completely. She was not just his consort as was normal for that period, she was a ruler in her own right, equal to him. Henry changed the country for Anne, he did everything he could so he could marry her, I don’t think after years of chasing her he would suddenly grow tired of her like that for no reason. He was a hunter, her virginity AND her hand was the prize. It was once he got the full prize he went back to his ‘womanising’ ways. Anne couldn’t satisfy him sexually while she was pregnant, as it was believed intercourse would harm the baby. So he acquired a mistress, as was normal for the time. It doesn’t mean he didn’t still love her – it was expected of him. She was hurt by this however, as she feared he would tire of her, which is a perfectly reasonable reaction considering how fickle Henry was.
Anne was like Henry in many ways, I believe they locked horns on many occasions. She was opinionated and strong. He loved this about her, her confidence was refreshing. It did, however, become exhausting. She meddled to much in the affairs of men. In many ways there were two kings on the throne.
Anne also promised the king a son. They believed a woman was fully responsible for the sex of her child. When Anne failed to produce a male child, he would of seen this as a betrayal. Unfortunately, miscarriage and stillbirth were common and Henry probably had some sort of sexual disease also, which could explain the failure of so many of Anne’s and Katherine’s pregnancies. Henry believed his lack of an heir was due to God disagreeing with his match to Anne – couple that with his mental instability, you can see why he wanted to rid himself of Anne. He also blamed her for the deaths of both Thomas Moore and Cardinal Walsey – both close friends of his for many years. He let Anne die painlessly because he felt guilty. He knew the charges against her were false, but chose to ignore it.
Most of what you hear of Anne was propaganda from the Roman Catholics. They hated her, called her a wh*re for NOT giving her virginity to the king – funny that. The king was responsible for his actions, weather he acted while blinded by passion or not.
Jane did try to get his attention – she had been a lady in waiting to both queen’s consistently, he never noticed her. She was a pawn, just like Anne, used in a political game. Jane kept her promise, fulfilled her duty, and died before he could tire of her. She gave him simpering smiles and batted her lashes like a child, she adopted the moto “To serve and obey”, playing on his distaste for Anne’s dominance.
Anne fully believed her marrying Henry was a message from God, to spread reformist beliefs and rid the country of papal decadence.Unfortunately, most of the Kings advisor’s disagreed.
Anne was a great queen, a strong woman, who was generous – far more than Katherine. Elizabeth inherited many of Anne’s strengths, and was one of the best queens the country had ever had,
“(Anne B.) was not just his consort as was normal for that period, she was a ruler in her own right, equal to (Henry VIII).”
If Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII’s true equal, he would not have had the authority to condemn her to death.
“Henry changed the country for Anne, he did everything he could so he could marry her … ”
Henry changed the country so he could marry Jane, too. He executed Anne because he wanted to marry Jane. If exacting dramatic changes is proof of love, we must conclude Henry loved Jane more than he loved Anne.
“So he acquired a mistress, as was normal for the time. It doesn’t mean he didn’t still love her – it was expected of him.”
Henry is alleged to have had several affairs during his marriage to Anne, including a fling with one of Anne’s cousins. If Henry was already so willing to exact dramatic changes upon his kingdom for Anne’s sake, chastity in marriage seems like a relatively minor expectation in comparison.
“Most of what you hear of Anne was propaganda from the Roman Catholics. They hated her, called her a wh*re for NOT giving her virginity to the king – funny that. The king was responsible for his actions, weather he acted while blinded by passion or not.”
Anne was not considered a wh*re for not giving her virginity to Henry. She was regarded as a wh*re because she participated in an affair with a married man. She participated in a sham marriage with that married man and conceived a child with that married man prior to the alleged marriage. Henry’s henchmen called the marriage “valid” for about three years and then acknowledged its invalidity once Henry tired of Anne.
It really is up to the individual to decide whether Anne deserved the epitaph “wh*re” and “concubine.” My opinion: so long as Katherine of Aragon lived, Anne was indeed an illicit lover participating in an adulterous affair with Katherine’s husband. I don’t care if “they really loved each other.” I don’t care if Henry genuinely believed his marriage to Queen Katherine was not valid. Anne’s marriage and subsequent queenship are tainted by the fact she did not obtain either via conventional means. Anne chose to accept her marriage/queenship on those terms. Don’t blame Catholics for Anne’s poor decisions and desperate ambitions.
Jane, on the other hand, wed Henry VIII, a widower eligible for marriage. She was as much Henry’s wh*re as Anne Boleyn had been, but the legality of her marriage is indisputable.
“Jane did try to get his attention – she had been a lady in waiting to both queen’s consistently, he never noticed her. She was a pawn, just like Anne, used in a political game. Jane kept her promise, fulfilled her duty, and died before he could tire of her. She gave him simpering smiles and batted her lashes like a child, she adopted the moto “To serve and obey”, playing on his distaste for Anne’s dominance.”
I honestly believe Jane elected her motto for her own reasons. Perhaps Jane truly was a “service-oriented” individual.
“If Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII’s true equal, he would not have had the authority to condemn her to death.”
You misinterpret what I said – He had her crowned as if she were a king, not a consort. This was a great honour, weather or not this protected her from him is another matter.
“Henry changed the country so he could marry Jane, too. He executed Anne because he wanted to marry Jane. If exacting dramatic changes is proof of love, we must conclude Henry loved Jane more than he loved Anne.”
He did more to marry Anne than he did Jane. He cast out his wife, his child, had his one of his most trusted advisor’s – (Wolsey) incarcerated. He also broke with Rome and risked war with Spain and The Holy Roman Empire, He made himself head of the church and created the Church of England. For Jane he murdered Anne and declared Elizabeth a bastard.
“Henry is alleged to have had several affairs during his marriage to Anne, including a fling with one of Anne’s cousins. If Henry was already so willing to exact dramatic changes upon his kingdom for Anne’s sake, chastity in marriage seems like a relatively minor expectation in comparison.”
Henry always had many women. Chastity wasn’t expected of him at any rate, so why would he choose to abstain? There is no proof of a mistress during his “wooing” of Anne, only when she was lying in did he choose a mistress, which was common behaviour during that period. There may not be any proof of Henry taking a mistress during his marriage to Jane, but I’m sure after seeing what Anne’s discovery of him and Jane did during her pregnancy, he made an effort to be slightly more discrete as to not risk the life of his unborn child. Historically, Henry did comment that after seeing several of Jane’s ladies, he wished he had known them before he took the decision to marry Jane (i.e. that they were prettier than she was), but there is no record that he ever actually slept with them.
“Anne was not considered a wh*re for not giving her virginity to Henry. She was regarded as a wh*re because she participated in an affair with a married man. She participated in a sham marriage with that married man and conceived a child with that married man prior to the alleged marriage. Henry’s henchmen called the marriage “valid” for about three years and then acknowledged its invalidity once Henry tired of Anne”
Henry constantly had affairs, why would Anne be any different? Because she refused to be called the ‘Royal mistress?’ Henry had already began proceedings to divorce Katherine before he met Anne. Henry fully believed that as he had married his brother’s wife, the marriage was already null and void. The pope didn’t agree, so he rid himself of their authority. He became head of the church, and he declared himself divorced, therefore, he was available to marry Anne. Anyway, Jane also had an affair with a married man, so she was just as bad, maybe even worse, as she purposely went out to attract Henry, while Anne tried to shun his advances.
“Don’t blame Catholics for Anne’s poor decisions and desperate ambitions.”
I didn’t, I said that what you hear of Anne is bias due to it mostly being the Roman Catholic representation of her you hear of most. Many books on Anne are based on Eustace Chapuys’ view. He was a Roman Catholic and in service of Katherine, supporter of Jane and well known hater of Anne. He spread the rumour of Anne’s sixth finger and large goitre – now unproven and completely ridiculous, considering the king would not choose to marry a deformed, ugly woman when he had access to much fairer stock. Anne wasn’t desperate, she was intelligent. She knew what giving yourself to the King meant – a perfect example being her own sister. She knew she could aim for the greatest prize (Queen) so she did, and who could blame her, in a world where all a woman had to look forward too was marriage and probable death on the child bed. She was a politician and highly religious reformer, she changed the country and the king, for the better in many cases, regardless of what people think of her. The marriage was already tainted by Henry taking her sister as a mistress, but I fully believe if she had provided him a son and learnt to control her ‘spirit’ he so dearly loved in the beginning, she would have survived.
Maybe he did still love Anne in some way, it was defiantly a love/hate relationship, highly passionate and physical. Jane signified innocence and purity, not sexual allure and strength. Henry believed his marriage to Anne was cursed by his taking her sister first, he knew he would never have a male heir with her, so duty forced him to find another wife. His crown was already in question from the start and as he suffered from horrendous paranoia, Anne’s inability to give him a son would of added to his fears. Jane was a safe choice. The choice paid off, she had a son and Anne died for it. There was no other way to rid himself of Anne than to kill her, or have her admit the marriage was false and Elizabeth a bastard. She refused to allow her daughter to be declared a bastard, and died for it. Henry granted her a painless death, without the brutality of the axe, a last show of caring for his unfortunate Queen. If anything, I feel sorry for Anne. She was put to death for being forward for her time, a true feminine hero and proof that women could be more than just mothers and home makers. Her daughter was one of the best Queen’s this country had ever had, she had many of Anne’s attributes, and ruled alone, far better than Mary had. She produced the Golden age, and still remains one of the most famous and best loved Queen’s in history.
Don’t know where you got your info, but Anne was certainly not Queen in her own right; she was crowned Queen Consort, which simply means wife of the King.
Whatever Henry was, be he Jeckyll or Hyde. he was the King of England and knew that the Tudor line BARELY had a claim to the throne of England. I think this and the idea that he was divinely appointed to be the ruler of England drove ALL of his actions, even before the bumps on the head. He wasn’t supposed to be King-he was the spare. Lo and behold, his older brother Arthur dies and now he’s in line to be king! God meant it to be! Obviously God also meant that the Tudors were supposed to keep the throne but by committing the sin of marrying his brother’s wife, he had cursed the Tudor line with no living sons. Catherine could plot with the Emperor so he had her seperated from everyone and have any and all resources taken from her-She could also plot with Mary, so he kept them apart. I think because he felt that a he was divinely appointed to rule he had no qualms about breaking with the church in Rome. What had they to do with England? In a repeat performance of his first marriage, Anne also failed to give him any living sons (after all of the trouble he went to to make her queen) so she had to be gotten rid of-quickly this time-he wasn’t getting any younger. Jane was a good choice-no previous baggage, family produced lots of healthy, living children, quiet and demure (outwardly), learned to know her”place”, etc. He was never given the chance to fall “out of love” with her because she died early in the relationship. She had never made any mistakes, given him a healthy son, and never caused him any of the problems the previous two queens had.
Rulers (male and female) sometimes have to make cruel decisions-it goes with the territory. Most of the good ones know they have to make those deecisions and it tears at them. Some enjoy the cruelty-even revel in it. Some, I think in order to cope, just put it out of their mind-as if that situation or person didn’t exist.
I would like to add to that, it is also a great site for debate.
OOOPs that reply should have been posted under Claires reply to La Belle Crerole sorry!
Henry had many ghosts to lay to rest, but failed I think. Having the freedom of the 2nd son, then being thust into the limelight. Placed in his fathers care, which was very restricting and sufforcating, in a then, a boring, depressing court. When he became King his main task was to marry, beget heirs, make wonderful alliances with Europe
and create a glittering court to envy the world. But in the back of his mind knowing that tudor claim to the throne was weak. He excelled in many things, academically, physically, musically etc, the list goes on. Even his looks and stature were well above average for the time. So being this annointed King, perfection personified, why could he not father a healthy son? even the lowest subject could manage this, but not he. It must have drove him to distraction, mental illness even,, paranoia, he was a mockery, so he showed his ‘manhood’ though the power of his ‘will’ and woe betide anyone who gain say him, as this became the norm his personality changed dramactically, not helped by his serious injuries, and constant pain.
Rulers did, and do have many hard decisions to make, and although they seem harsh are usually for the common good. But there came a point in Henry’s career, that all reason had disappeared, as had that young, vibrant King who everyone admired, including me. So those ghosts he had to contend with haunted him all his life. At the end of the day, even though Jane died prematurely, bless her, I think she faired better than most.
Although he excell
at many things, academic and physical
Take no notice of those last 2 lines forgot to erase them, , time for bed Ithink making 2 many mistakes!!!
ami nunca me cayo bien Jane Seymour, me agrada que sea una mujer muy recatada pero sin ofender pero la puta no es Ana sino Jane, por que por muy sinverguenza que fuera Ana es mejor la pecadora que acepta sus pecados que la mosca muerta que dice no quebrar ningun plato cuando en realidad es la que estropea todo…yo no me creo el cuento de que Jane era una dama casta y virtuosa pero aun asi Jane no le llega a los tobillos a Ana ni en ingenio, belleza o inteligencia ni jamas sera llamada la reina consorte mas influyente de inglaterra
Has there been any documentation found on Jane Seymour’s thoughts on Anne Boleyn? She must have felt something for the poor woman, hopefully it wasn’t all negative.
I wonder what made Jane Seymour comfortable with the King’s courting while married to Anne. I realize she had been shunned. Nevertheless, Anne was married to the King when he started speaking to Anne. Yet, she is still labeled as virtues.
I’m exploring in my book the many sides and tyrannical change of Henry. I think his execution of Anne followed immediately by the marriage to Jane clearly shows it as does two portraits of Henry one while married to Anne and one done shortly after her execution. Portraits ordered by the king himself. Such a change in him. Jane obviously not the timid pious woman was quite likely in league with Cromwell who’s son did marry her sister. It was Cromwells apartments that made her accessible to the king who hadn’t even noticed her while married to Catharine. Hmmmm wonder who put her under the king’s nose. Would you really risk your health by wearing a locket Henry gave you in front of Anne unless you already knew? This woman had a lot of boldness for someone so pure.