No matter where Jane was during those eleven days, she set out for York Palace on the morning of May 30th, dressed in her finery and ready to wed the King. The ceremony took place in the Queen's Closet at the palace, and was attended only by the most intimate friends and courtiers of the King. The two were married by Archbishop Cranmer.
Anyway, it was a great attempt, and Henry was truly trying to start all over with this new marriage. According to David Starkey, the wedding vows would have gone something like this: "Henry: "I, Henry, take thee to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, and thereto I plight thee my troth." Jane: "I take thee, Henry, to my wedded husband’, followed by the same vow as Henry’s but with the promise to be ‘bonny and buxom in bed and board."
The marriage, although beautiful and traditional, differed from Henry's first marriage to Katherine of Aragon, because there was no official announcement of the marriage as their had been with Katherine. This was the same as with Anne Boleyn's marriage - most likely because it was not Henry's first anymore, and he wanted to ease the people into accepting his new Queen. Although there was great pageantry and celebration following Jane's wedding, she was indeed eased into the public eye, and was gradually presented as Queen.
As for Jane's wedding present, the King presented her with "a grant of 104 manors in 4 counties, as well as a number of forests and hunting chases, for her jointure, the income that would support her during her marriage" (Weir, p. 344) as well as a gold cup designed by Hans Holbein, where Henry and Jane's initials are entwined with a love knot, with Jane's motto "Bound to Obey and Serve."
As for the public's reaction to the new marriage, it seems that they were not as opposed to it as they had been to Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn, but there were those who still felt the marriage was "distasteful" (including Chapuys), but who probably did not dare speak of such a thing, out of fear of the King.
Within the week of the wedding, Henry was already talking about the Prince he hoped to have soon, and we can assume that Jane was feeling immense pressure right from the start. In any case, this was an exciting day for her!
Happy Anniversary, Henry and Jane!
Sources:
- Starkey, D. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, 2003
- Weir, A. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 2007 Norton, E. Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love, 2009.