Jane Seymour at Court

Jane Seymour was born in 1508 to Sir John Seymour and Lady Margery Wentworth, members of the English gentry. Her parents had important connections to the English court, which earned Jane a place in the service of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife. When Anne Boleyn married Henry VIII and replaced Catherine as Queen, Jane moved to Anne’s service by the end of 1533.

It was unusual for a young woman of Jane’s social class to be unmarried still at the age of 26, when Henry first became attracted to her in 1535. Jane was known for her quiet calmness and propriety at court, more than for her physical beauty. She was quite the opposite of the demanding and volatile Anne Boleyn, who had thus far only borne Henry a girl, Elizabeth, in 1533 shortly after their long-awaited marriage. Anne’s position hinged on her carrying Henry’s male heir to the throne. However, in January of 1535, Anne miscarried for the second time, a male fetus.

King Henry’s Attraction

After Anne’s miscarriage, King Henry began to show interest in Jane Seymour. But Jane would do nothing to compromise her virtue or harm her honor. Starting in April 1535, the king visited Jane regularly with her brother Edward and his wife present. Henry appreciated Jane’s modesty, and, as their relationship became more well known, it became obvious that he thought of her as a potential bride.

On May 2, 1536, Anne was arrested on charges of adultery and incest and was swiftly executed on May 19. On May 20, Henry and Jane were officially betrothed and were wed on May 30, 1536.

Jane as Queen

Jane’s motto while serving as queen was bound to serve and obey. This expresses the emphasis Jane put on being the model early modern Englishwoman: chaste, silent, and obedient. She wanted a devout and dignified court and insisted the ladies in her service dress modestly and conduct themselves virtuously.

Jane knew her main purpose as queen was to provide a male heir, but she also had other tasks she wanted to accomplish. While waiting to bear a son, Jane worked to reconcile the King and his eldest daughter Mary, who would go on to become the future Queen Mary I. Jane persuaded Mary to submit to her father’s authority after years of resenting him for divorcing her mother. Jane also convinced Henry to accept Mary’s submission and to restore her to her proper position at court by the end of that year.

Henry was delighted when Jane became pregnant in 1536 and did everything he could to make his wife comfortable and happy, including keeping her well-supplied with the quail she craved, no matter the trouble or expense. Jane made no public appearances and prayers were said throughout England for her and the unborn child.

Jane Gives Birth and Dies

King Henry finally got his long awaited son on October 12, 1537, after Jane endured three days of labor. The boy was named Edward and was christened in a ceremony on October 15. Jane seemed to have endured the difficult birth well and was receiving visitors after the christening. The day following the christening, however, she began to decline, potentially due to blood loss or childbed fever (caused usually by streptococcus bacteria). On October 24, 1537, Jane Seymour died. She was buried in St. George’s chapel, Windsor. In 1547, Henry was laid to rest beside his sweet Jane.

The Controversy over Jane’s Death

Some controversy persists about the type of delivery Jane endured and the exact cause of her death. Some have proposed that a cesarean delivery was performed and this caused Jane’s death; however, research shows for many reasons this could not have taken place. In the 1500s, cesarean delivery was only performed as a last resort, most likely scenario being that either the mother or the infant had already died. Henry reportedly said, the child by all means, for other wives can easily be found when asked by the midwives and physicians, whether to save the child or the mother if it came to that. Evidence indicates that Jane survived the birth for 12 days. If a cesarean section had taken place, she would have died almost immediately due to hemorrhage. An infection or other type of postpartum hemorrhage are more likely cause of her untimely death.

Key Print Sources Beer, Barrett L. . , vol. 13. Oxford University Press. 23 Sep. 2004. Fraser, Antonia. . Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Gross, Pamela M. . Edwin Mellen Press, 1999.

Key Online Sources Best, Michael. . . . University of Victoria. https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/history/henry%20VIII/seymour.html. Accessed 12 Sep. 2018. Lurie, Samuel. , vol. 41, no. 1, 2017, pp. 23–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2016.10.002. . Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Seymour. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.