Preparing for a royal birth: Queen Jane retires to her rooms
- Jade Lynch
- Sep 16
- 2 min read
the death of Jane Seymour as imagined by a later artist
On this day, the 16th September 1537, Henry VIII’s wife and queen retired to her rooms at Hampton Court Palace for her confinement.
Confinement, or ‘lying-in’, refers to a long period of rest which took place before and after giving birth. This usually applied to high-status women, who would disappear from public view prior to the arrival of their baby. While it may have been difficult to leave the gossip and glamour of the court, confinement would have spared women from having to adhere to typical fashions, such as corsets, thick and heavy dresses, and other types of restrictive clothing! This period would usually begin about a month before a woman’s due date, with the tradition tracing back to Henry VIII’s grandmother, who wished to give birth in a secluded and exclusively female space [1].
Upon Jane’s confinement, a ritual would have taken place, likely involving a time of prayer followed by a procession to the Queen’s chamber. Guests would take ‘spice and wine under the cloth’, lead her into her private chamber, then take their leave and share their well-wishes. Men were not allowed into the confinement chamber, with male staff and servants expected to pass food, drink and any other items to ‘women officers’ for them to receive in the chamber [2]. Jane was attended by one man, Sir William Butts, who was Henry’s most trusted doctor [3].
Jane’s rooms were actually refurbished by Henry before she went into confinement, and a new suite was added for his new child. However, it is said that these apartments were not fully complete by this time, so Jane stayed in a room overlooking the Clock Court. No matter where she stayed, the chamber would have been ‘hung with thick fabric and tapestries, with the window covered to let in a small amount of light’ [3].
Unfortunately, Jane would spend a full month in confinement until giving birth to her son on the 12th October 1537. Her labour lasted two days and three nights, which undoubtedly would have been an exhausting and frightening experience, as so many women sadly died due to birth complications. However, once over, Jane’s attendants were confident that she would recover [3].
Plans were made to end the Queen’s confinement and allow her to enter the court once more as part of a ‘Churching’ ceremony. However, her health quickly deteriorated, and Jane died only twelve days after giving birth [3].
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