As I said the other day, the birth of Henry VIII's son Edward Tudor was not entirely a happy event. Of course, it began that way, and celebrations throughout England were in full swing right through the infant prince's christening. However, the joy that both the English people and the King felt would be short-lived, because the beloved Queen Jane had contracted what was known as 'childbed fever' - most likely as a result of the long and difficult birth, as well as the relatively unsanitary methods of delivering a child. (It is believed that the midwives would not even wash their hands or cloths).
Although directly after the birth of Edward, it seemed that Jane was making a good recovery (considering the ordeal she'd gone through getting him into the world), only two days after the christening, her condition was worsening and she received the last rights. By 24 October, once her fever and delirium had reached an all-time high, the doctors informed Henry that if Jane would survive the night, she would be likely to live. However, sometime during the night on 24 October, Jane passed away after several days of suffering - and only twelve days after the birth of her son.
It is unclear whether or not the king was at Jane's side when she passed away - as The Tudors shows in a deeply moving and heart-wrenching scene during the third season. However, we do know that Henry was extremely upset and grief-stricken after his beloved wife's death. In his mind, Jane was his only true wife. She had done everything a royal wife was supposed to do at the time - She had listened to him, turned a blind eye when he flirted with other women, delivered him the precious son he had waited for, and had never defied or betrayed him in any way. Now, because she was dying after fulfilling Henry's greatest wish, she was in all ways the perfect Queen.
It is unclear whether or not the king was at Jane's side when she passed away - as The Tudors shows in a deeply moving and heart-wrenching scene during the third season. However, we do know that Henry was extremely upset and grief-stricken after his beloved wife's death. In his mind, Jane was his only true wife. She had done everything a royal wife was supposed to do at the time - She had listened to him, turned a blind eye when he flirted with other women, delivered him the precious son he had waited for, and had never defied or betrayed him in any way. Now, because she was dying after fulfilling Henry's greatest wish, she was in all ways the perfect Queen.
Henry was certainly not ready to let her go, and once she was lying in state in the chapel of Hampton Court Palace, Henry began his official (and long) period of mourning. He would wear black for about three years and not marry again until Thomas Cromwell arranged the Cleves marriage. Even then, Henry would not find another wife that he considered so perfect for him - and he would even order that he himself be buried next to his true wife, Jane, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in 1547. This just shows how beloved she was to him!
We can even see the grief that Henry felt in a letter he sent to King Francis I of France soon after Jane's death:
"Divine Providence...hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness."
Such a sad day in Tudor history. The people loved their Queen, the King loved his Queen, and now the infant Prince was without a mother. However, Jane's legacy and love would live on, and she would be the only one of Henry's wives to receive an elaborate funeral fit for a Queen. Henry would certainly never forget the woman who had brought him everything he'd desired, and whom he considered to be his true wife.
Rest in Peace, Queen Jane Seymour!
We can even see the grief that Henry felt in a letter he sent to King Francis I of France soon after Jane's death:
"Divine Providence...hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness."
Such a sad day in Tudor history. The people loved their Queen, the King loved his Queen, and now the infant Prince was without a mother. However, Jane's legacy and love would live on, and she would be the only one of Henry's wives to receive an elaborate funeral fit for a Queen. Henry would certainly never forget the woman who had brought him everything he'd desired, and whom he considered to be his true wife.
Rest in Peace, Queen Jane Seymour!
RSS Feed
