2. Fear - This is quite an obvious emotion for Jane to have been experiencing at this time. She could only have her King after his wife was put away - and not only divorced, but executed. I can imagine that if I were preparing for my wedding to a man who was having his previous wife executed, I would feel a little unsettled. Also, there is evidence that Jane held King Henry's first wife Katherine of Aragon in high regard,and knowing that she had been cruelly sent away in exile by the King would have probably added to Jane's fear of her own fate as England's new Queen.
3. Guilt - There is no record of how Jane felt about Anne Boleyn's death, but seeing as she was thought to be a kind and thoughtful woman during her life, it is probably safe to assume that her feelings toward Queen Anne were not cold or cruel. The fact that the Queen of England was being executed must have come as a surprise to Jane, who was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen in her household. Although there is evidence of Anne treating Jane badly, it is very likely that Jane still felt a pang of guilt in taking Henry away from his wife, and possibly being part of the cause for her downfall.
When Henry left Jane on the evening of 19 May, she had much to look forward to. Their betrothal would be announced the following day - this day in 1536, May 20th. That morning, Jane dressed in one of her finest gowns and rode by barge to join the King at his river lodgings. There, by nine o'clock in the morning (only 24 hours after Anne Boleyn's execution), Jane and Henry were formally betrothed before witnesses.
Times were certainly changing for the Tudors! Henry's second wife, the somewhat difficult, controversial Anne Boleyn was dead, and now he was engaged to the gentle, doe-eyed Jane Seymour. They would be married in only ten days and she would become his most beloved Queen!
Sources:
- Norton, Elizabeth "Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love" - (1) page 75.