On this day in Tudor history, 27th May 1537, just under a year after Henry VIII had married Jane Seymour, news spread that the queen had felt her unborn baby move for the first time.
The good news sparked off celebrations in London, Calais, Oxford and York.
But how did the people celebrate?
In this video, I share what the contemporary sources say about this day and how the news was celebrated…
If you prefer reading articles to watching videos, you can read more about this here.
Also on this day in Tudor history, 27th May 1541, the frail sixty-seven-year-old Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was executed at the Tower of London.
The former governess of Princess Mary had an awful end because the usual executioner was away from London, and one account has led to stories of her tormented ghost reliving her final moments at the Tower.
So Edward was conceived in January 1537, yet Henry and Jane had been married since early June 1536, yet this time it had taken her seven months to fall pregnant, unlike both Katherine and Anne Boleyn who had both fallen pregnant soon after sleeping with the king, proof that Henry was past his fertile best, he was in his forties by now and suffering from ill health with his mood swings, his bad leg his constipation, all this of course was not helped by his lifestyle, his girth was expanding at an alarming rate and he was probably border line type 2 diabetes, all this can have an effect on a mans fertility, Henry understandably was over the moon at the news his queen was expecting, but he must have had many qualms to, had he not been here before many times over? and so must Jane for her baby could well be a girl and then what would happen to her? But caught up in the joyous news the country celebrated and there was free wine running as ever, as there had been on Anne Boleyn’s coronation day, the people celebrated and were happy for their king and queen, yet when her delivery time came her labour was dreadful lasting nearly three days, yet after her tired and broken body had expelled forth her infant, she could revel in her success as her baby was a prince, yet Jane was to suffer from septicaemia, deadly in those days without antibiotics, the jubilation the country and her king felt turned to sorrow not long after, as Jane died and so the bonfires and the te deum’s ceased, the wine flowed no more as the court went into mourning, Henry V111 was said to mourn Jane sincerely, yet did he really, he never appeared to have loved her with the passion he had felt for Anne Boleyn, or the schoolboys idealistic crush he had felt for his first queen, and he at last had what he had waited over twenty years for – the treasured prince, I feel his courtship and wedding to Jane Seymour was made through expedience and just a need to get an heir, Jane had a large family and Henry could have thought with his head this time not with his heart, she had many siblings she was quiet and unassuming she could give him an heir and cause no trouble, it was for practical reasons he married his third queen, there was no torrent of love just a nice easy affection, the sought one feels for a dear friend, however, her early demise gave her what none of his others queens managed to do, earn’t her a very special place in this iconic kings heart.