Jane Seymour (1508-24 October 1537) was Queen consort of England from 30 May 1536 to 24 October 1537 as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England. She died less than two weeks after giving birth to their only child, the future King Edward VI of England.
Biography[]
Jane Seymour was born in Wulfhall, Wiltshire, England in 1508, the daughter of John Seymour and the sister of Edward and Thomas Seymour. Through her maternal grandfather, she was a descendant of King Edward III of England's son, Lionel of Antwerp; this made her fifth cousins with King Henry VIII. In 1532, she became a maid-of-honor to Queen Catherine of Aragon, and she was admired by King Henry for her gentle, peaceful nature. King Henry fell in love with her during the king's unhappy marraige to Anne Boleyn, and he was betrothed to her on 20 May 1536, just one day after Anne's execution.
Queen of England[]
Seymour and King Henry at their wedding
On 4 June 1536, Jane was proclaimed as Queen of England. The Spanish ambassador Eustace Chapuys, in a private audience with Jane Seymour (listened in upon by King Henry), Chapuys praised Seymour for being a peacemaker and for her belief that the King's daughter Lady Mary should be restored to the inheritance. In January 1537, she became pregnant with King Henry's child, and she gave birth to their son, Prince Edward, on 12 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace. Jane Seymour's labor was difficult, however, as the baby was not well positioned. She died on 24 October at Hampton Court Palace at the young age of 28, and she was the only one of Henry's six wives to be given a queen's burial.
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