4 June 1536 – A new queen is proclaimed

Jane Seymour-Hans_Holbein_d._J._032bFollowing her marriage to Henry VIII on 30th May 1536 and her first public apearance as queen on 2nd June, Jane Seymour was proclaimed Queen at Greenwich on Sunday 4th June 1536, Whitsun.

Chronicler and Windsor Herald Charles Wriothesley recorded it:

“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.”

Queen Anne Boleyn’s household had been broken up on 13th May 1536, two days before her trial, and although her staff were discharged many of them were back at court by 4th June 1536 to serve the new queen. It’s hard to imagine how they must have felt about going from one queen to another in just three weeks.

Also on this day in history, 4th June 1550, Robert Dudley married Amy Robsart at the royal palace of Sheen. Click here to read more.

Notes and Sources

  • Wriothesley, Charles (1875) A chronicle of England during the reigns of the Tudors, from A.D. 1485 to 1559 Volume 1, Camden Society, p. 43-44.

Related Post

8 thoughts on “4 June 1536 – A new queen is proclaimed”
  1. If Jane Seymour was given all the normal proclamations and ceremonies for a new Queen, why do you think she was not crowned?

    Was it for any of the excuses Henry may or may not have come out with, plague in the city, very plausible but it did not last all year, there were rumours of trouble, or the queen was pregnant, and so on?

    Did Henry merely want to make sure that the pregnancy went well and was a son, with a coronation once Jane had recovered?

    Had Henry got enough cash for the elaborate coronation that he seems to have at least dreamed of planning? The revenues from the monasteries and other taxes had not been received to the royal coppers as the full dissolution had not yet been concluded, the larger monasteries were still open, the first fruits and other revenues were still being gathered? I suspect that in 1536 Henry Viii was short of ready cash, had other concerns and his wife was not yet pregnant. There was also the little matter of northern rebellions, that took all of his limited resources, stretched the King, threatened his safety and crown and made any coronation between October 1536 and the last executions in July 1537 impossible. By time it was over, Jane was quickening with child, Henry was broke and he did not want to risk any embarrassment if Jane had a girl. Jane was heavily pregnant, plague possibly was in the city, it was a very hot Summer and Henry was being far more cautious than he had for several years, plus I actually think he was broke.

    1. There is the theory that the coronation was postponed because of plague and then she became pregnant, but I think Henry was wary of spending so much money again when he still didn’t have a son and heir. I think he wanted to make sure that Jane was going to provide him with a prince first before he spent all that money.

      1. Hi Claire, yes I think you have hit the nail on the head, the coronation for Anne Boleyn was enormously expensive. Henry was being careful about the delivery of the promised son before splashing out again.

        1. Surely he had to be cautious ,he did not want to make himself a fool once again …..having a daughter instead of the long awaited male heir he had been seeking for so long ! Also ” no cash ” …..better wait and see !

  2. Yes I also think that Henry was maybe trying to be more frugal than he had been, he had wasted an enormous amount of money since he came to the throne.

  3. Henry was broke at this time. The Dissolution had not yet poured vast sums into his coffers as yet, and he had spent the huge Treasury his father left him. Had Jane lived, she would surely have been crowned. Interesting no coronation occurred after this, isn’t it?

  4. Jane Seymour had everything, a river pageant, proclaimed Queen in public and a ball. Everything but a coronation as Henry wanted to ensure that any child was a boy and he planned one even more sumptuous than that of Queen Anne. He had a beautiful galleon with all forms of mythical beast designed like one used by the Doge of Venice. Henry didn’t want the embarrassment he had felt after Elizabeth, although there is no evidence he was disappointed by her birth. However, he wasn’t going to take a chance as this would be expensive. He made various excuses, but in reality he was waiting on their children.

  5. Jane Seymour was shrewd and clever but she knew how to withdraw and be humble when she had to be. She had several causes which were close to her heart and she attempted to help with the northern rebels, the monastic houses and Princess Mary. She wasn’t successful, but her role was important nonetheless as it demonstrates the intercession of a Queen. Mary was accepted back, but only after full submission to her father and Jane did befriend her at that time. Henry reversed his promises to the rebels in 1537 but he also warned Jane not to interfere in his business as Anne had done. By then Jane was pregnant, although she didn’t know that until a few months later. Henry would go after the largest religious houses after the two Northern Rebellions but Jane was involved in negotiations for a small convent in her chambers which Cromwell had an interest in. Jane wasn’t to blame for Anne’s death but she was a woman with aims and ambitions and she wanted to be Queen for a reason, to bring Henry back to his faith and family. She was a traditional Catholic Tudor woman from a good landed family and she had learned from Katherine and Anne, more than she knew. She had the potential to be ruthless but she chose humility and kindness, strict moral and dress codes and to be everything the King desired in a wife. Now she was declared as Queen and her reception began.

    Jane was promised a coronation and we do know that Henry planned one an elaborate one with a copy of the barge used by the Doge of Venice, being planned to take her to her coronation. It was golden with fantastic beasts and dolphins and crowns and leapards and so on. Henry for now gave Jane a river pageant and for a ceremony at his palaces and a rich banquet and dancing and entertainment. In fact she had everything but a coronation and the celebrations went on for days. Henry used several excuses for the delay of Jane’s coronation, the plague being one, her pregnancy another, but really he was just being cautious because for one thing her pregnancy was a risk and he didn’t want to look foolish if she gave birth to another girl. The threat to his throne from the Pilgrimage of Grace cannot be under stated and it shook him to the core. His army was ill prepared to meet a 40,000 strong force. By negotiating, holding the army in place in Yorkshire, by tricking Robert Aske and the other leaders, entertained at Court during Christmas and New Year, Henry was able to get the rebels to stand down. He offered them all a pardon but a series of second risings gave Henry the reasons he had been waiting for to stamp them out. Jane pleaded for their lives but Henry refused. However, the retaliation wasn’t quite the bloodbath of myth. Most rebels were pardoned. Norfolk and Suffolk were sent back North and to the Midlands to sedk out the most culpable and executions followed a legal process. Almost every town and village saw the execution of someone involved or alleged to be involved in the rebellions. 236 people were executed in Yorkshire and 152_in Lincolnshire and the surrounding areas. The monasteries had been reopened during the second rebellion and now they too paid the price with destruction, execution, exclusion and closure. Every religious house in England and Wales fell prey to the biggest land grab in our history. Meanwhile, Jane was carrying Henry’s son and thanksgiving was said for the quickening in the Spring of 1537. Henry was once more planning her coronation and even thought she might be crowned in York during a progress there. However, sadly Jane died twelve days after her triumphant delivery of a healthy son in October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace. Edward had a marvellous baptism, recreated a couple of years ago at Hampton Court. Jane’s funeral was left to Norfolk to plan as Henry withdrew from public life into seclusion and mourned Jane for several months. She was laid to rest in Windsor after a state funeral and Henry shared her tomb. Henry also went on the planned progress to York but four years later and with another wife, the young and pretty, Kathryn Howard.

    Jane is a woman many are torn over because she married Henry just eleven days after his execution of his second Queen, Anne Boleyn, but that doesn’t mean she waded through blood as Miss Strickland put it in the nineteenth century. Jane did help Henry to conclude his marriage to Anne was now doomed because it wasn’t popular but Henry had already made his mind up that Anne had to go. He just had not yet looked at his options. Jane was out of the way when Anne died to preserve her dignity and honour. People in London were shocked at the King’s behaviour after Anne’s death, having parties and banqueting with several ladies and with the swift marriage. Jane may well have been kinder than Anne but she was certainly just as ambitious. However, she allowed Mary to see her own mother as the only Queen her father had previously been married to, she didn’t push her own claim as Anne had. Ironically, Henry forced his daughter to deny her inheritance rights and to acknowledge herself to be illegitimate before he allowed her to receive visitors like himself and Jane and restored her place at Court. He only restored her place in the Succession in 1544. Mary promised Ambassador Chapuys she would always help Mary, making Henry uncomfortable with this conversation which he then ended. Jane, then wasn’t quite the meek and mild wife he was hoping for, but she was wise enough to appear so, especially when carrying his children. It’s a great pity more traces of her Queenship hat not been left and there is certainly more of Jane to explore.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *