On this day in 1536, Whitsun, Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour, was proclaimed Queen at Greenwich. Chronicler Charles Wriothesley recorded this moment:
“Also the 4th daie of June, being Whitsoundaie, 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.”1
England had a new queen.
Notes and Sources
- Wriothesley’s Chronicle, p43-44
Hmm, I thought Jane Seymour didn’t went through the traditional coronation, hence not considered as Queen, only a Consort? Her coronation was planned to be after the birth of Prince Edward, but she didn’t make it.
A coronation doesn’t make any difference to the actual status. Only Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were crowned, but Henry’s other wives were still queens. All of them were Queen Consorts, a Queen Regnant is a reigning queen like Mary I and Elizabeth I.
Hail Good Queen Jane! Was Henry happy at last? I hope that he was and that he found a great deal of peace in his domestic sphere. Henry had problems with the far of locals in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire and Lancashire during the next several months from October 1536 to January and February 1537 and the justice system did not finish dealing with the risings until July 1537.
I hope that the trouble that he found in the opposition to the destruction of the religious houses and all the other changes in the Norh of England was offset by some peace and calm at home. I think that Jane mainly had the role of a peace maker and was not a dormat as some older historical portrayals have depicted her. She was just what Henry needed at this time, and to his delight, at the end of the troubles, he could publically announce that Jane was with child and a Te Deum was ordered.
I do feel a bit sorry for Jane though as she was promised a great coronation and did not live long enough to enjoy it. Henry for a vaiery of reasona was putting it off and I think that he wanted to make sure that Jane was safely delivered of her son before the extravegance of a grand coronation. The excuses may have seen to be silly, but they are actually quite sensible; plague was deadly and the court would have kept out of the city until it passed. Then the political diversions would have made a coronation impossible and putting it off until after her child was born even more sensible. I believe Henry wanted to crown Jane but she died before he could finally reward her for giving him his son.
I also agree that you do not have to actually have the ceremonial coronation to be a Queen Consort, although it gives more authority to the title as it makes it more sacred. There was some debate about the succession a few years later when people questioned was Mary more worthy to rule as her mother had actually been crowned and Jane had not. The symbolic nature of an actual coronation was enfused with meaning and seen in religious terms. It certainly transformed the way a monarch or their consort were seen by the people. Having said this I am sure that married to Henry VIII he would have certainly have made sure that his Queens were all treated with respect and had the respect and renown that they deserved.
Looking at Jane’s portrait, she seems like a very calm and smart lady. It’s such a shame she met her end after giving birth to Prince Edward. Doesn’t it make you wonder when you think…. what if?
M’Lady – I think Katherine Howard would have gladly gone along with that plan! The incidence of women dying in or shortly after childbirth in the sixteenth century is just awful to contemplate. Does anyone know if Jane Seymour died of post-birth septic poisoning? Or something else, and if so, what? I realize only a description of symptoms would suggest the cause, and we can never know definitively.
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