His 'True Love' - why is Jane Seymour is considered Henry VIII's true love?

Jane Seymour © Hans Holbein the Younger – The National Portrait Gallery

As a serial husband, it is hard to imagine that King Henry VIII had ever found his true love. With a history of either divorcing or executing his wives, Henry’s innermost thoughts and feelings have always been a mystery. Therefore, we must ask the question - why is Jane Seymour considered to be his favourite wife?

Having already been wed to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, it was rumoured that Jane Seymour had caught Henry’s eye while in the service of his previous wives. In fact, in 1534 a Spanish ambassador described an affair between the King and a woman in Anne’s household which could have been Jane.

A few years later, Henry is said to have sent several gifts and tokens of affection to Jane. However, to uphold her honour, she refused to accept these gifts. If Jane hoped that this would dissuade the King, it did not have the desired effect. She was said to be gentle, chaste and obedient - all the signs of a good wife in the Tudor period - and, most importantly, she came from a family who had a reputation for fertility. Henry was desperate for a son and heir, and when his relationship with Anne curdled, Jane would have seemed like the perfect candidate.

Henry and Jane were married on 30th May 1536, two weeks after Anne’s execution. As Queen, she behaved very differently to her two predecessors, presenting herself as quiet, strict and pious. Jane also banned the French fashions that had been introduced by Anne, replacing the extravagance of court life with formality and decorum.

Although Jane largely distanced herself from the politics of the time, there is one reported involvement that could have ended badly. In October 1536, a popular uprising called the Pilgrimage of Grace challenged Henry’s religious reforms. It is believed that Jane begged Henry to ‘restore the abbeys’, but Henry rejected this plea. He warned Jane to stop interfering and reminded her of the fate of her predecessor, and it was said that he ‘often told her not to meddle with his affairs’.

Despite this, Jane fell pregnant in 1537 and it was predicted that she was having a boy. Henry ordered redecorations to the Queen’s apartments, as well as a suite for his new child. A welcome surprise was that Jane did actually give birth to a son, and on 12 October 1537, Edward was born. Unfortunately, Jane did not recover well from birth and she died twelve days later.

While Henry had his beloved son and heir, he wore black for three months in mourning for Jane. The court followed suit and mourned with him, and the rooms of Hampton Court were draped in black fabric. The King reportedly retreated to Westminster where he ‘mourned and kept himself close and secret for a while’. It took him two years to marry his next wife, Anne of Cleves, and when he died in 1547, Henry chose to be buried next to Jane in St George’s Chapel.

Whether Henry genuinely did feel that Jane was his true love, or whether he remained enamoured by her for giving him his only son, we will never truly know. However, he did continue to include her in portraits despite remarrying three more times. Jane will forever be remembered as the woman who left Henry differently to her fellow wives, where he had no say in the matter and may have wanted her to stay.

Until next time!

-        Have a ‘Tudor-fic’ week!

Resources:

1. Historic Royal Palaces, Jane Seymour

2. Wikipedia, Jane Seymour