On This Day in Tudor History

On October 12, 1537, Edward VI was born to Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first ruler who was raised as a Protestant.


Edward became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The realm was governed by a Regency Council, because he never reached maturity. The Council was led by his uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and then by John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick, who later became Duke of Northumberland.


Edward's reign was marked by economic problems and social unrest that, in 1549, erupted into riot and rebellion. It was during Edward's reign that Protestantism was established for the first time in England with reforms that included the abolition of clerical celibacy, celebration of mass and other services in English. The architect of these reforms was Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose Book of Common Prayer is still used today.

Edward fell ill in January 1553, and when he realized it was terminal, he and his Council drew up a "Devise for the Succession" to prevent the country being returned to Catholicism. Edward named his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his heir and excluded his half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. However, this was disputed following Edward's death and Jane was only queen for nine days before Edward's half-sister, Mary, was proclaimed Queen. She proceeded to reverse many of Edward's Protestant reforms and turn England Catholic again.

Edward became ill in January 1553 with a fever and cough that gradually worsened. He made his final appearance in public on July 1, when he showed himself at his window in Greenwich Palace, horrifying those who saw him by his "thin and wasted" condition.

Edward died at the age of 15 at Greenwich Palace on July 6, 1553. He was buried in Henry VII Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey on August 8, 1553, with reformed rites performed by Thomas Cranmer. At the same time, Queen Mary attended a mass for his soul in the Tower, where Jane Grey was, by then, a prisoner.

The cause of Edward VI's death is not certain. As with many royal deaths in the 16th century, rumours of poisoning abounded, but no evidence has been found to support these. The Duke of Northumberland, whose unpopularity was underlined by the events that followed Edward's death, was widely believed to have ordered the imagined poisoning. The surgeon who opened Edward's chest after his death found that "the disease whereof his majesty died was the disease of the lungs". The Venetian ambassador reported that Edward had died of consumption—in other words, tuberculosis—a diagnosis accepted by many historians.


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On This Date in Tudor History

On July 19, 1553, King Henry VIII's daughter, Mary, was proclaimed Queen of England after Edward VI's chosen successor, Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the monarchy for nine days, was deposed. After initially being forgiven by Queen Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and her husband were imprisoned and later executed for high treason.


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On This Day in Tudor History:

On February 20, 1547, Prince Edward is crowned King Edward VI of England at the tender age of 9.
Edward was the long awaited son of Henry VIII with his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was England's first sovereign to be raised a full Protestant.
Sadly, Edward's reign was marked by economic and social unrest. Of course, Edward only ever ruled through a Regency Council because he never reached maturity.
Edward fell ill in January 1553, and when it was discovered to be terminal, he and his Council attempted to prevent the country being returned to Catholicism by naming his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his heir and excluding his half sisters, Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. This would doom Lady Jane to execution by Queen Mary I.

On This Day in Tudor History:

On October 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII, died of puerperal (or childbed) fever. She was 29 years old and had just given Henry the one thing he wanted most in the world: a legitimate, living, male child, the future King Edward VI.

I find Jane Seymour to have been a fascinating creature -not in the same way I admire Anne Boleyn - but as one of the greatest contradictions in history.

She became a maid-of-honour in 1532 to Queen Katherine and then famously served Queen Anne Boleyn - putting her in the path of the king. The first report of Henry VIII's interest in Jane Seymour was in February 1536. Pale, blonde, quiet and malleable, Jane Seymour was everything that Anne was not.

She was not educated as highly as King Henry's previous wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. She could read and write a little but was much better at needlework and household management. Because of this, Jane expressed her opinions to Henry far less often and was not obstinate and argumentative like the ladies who came before her. However, when she did venture to talk to Henry about something, it was about his closing (and looting) of the religious houses and to request pardons for participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion. At this, Henry is said to have reminded her of the fate her predecessor met with when she "meddled in his affairs."

After her death at Hampton Court Palace, Henry wore black for the next three months and did not remarry for three years, although marriage negotiations were tentatively started soon after her death. She was Henry's favourite wife because, historians have speculated, she gave birth to a male heir. When he died in 1547, Henry was buried beside her in St. George's Chapel at Windsor.

The reason I find her such a contradiction is because she has successfully retained the image of wholesome, sweet, complaisant queen these 500 years despite doing EXACTLY what Anne Boleyn did, only better! But it's Anne who is called the conniving concubine, the whore. There has always been extensive writing and talk about the Boleyns being grasping social-climbers, but the Seymours were NO BETTER! BOTH of Jane's brothers were eventually executed for treason after using her memory to build fortunes and careers.

As for sweet Jane herself, when Henry first offered his affections, she certainly didn't discourage him out of deference to her queen or respect for marriage vows. She learned from Anne that she didn't have to be JUST a mistress and that a lady-in-waiting could usurp a queen and she did just that. There is every evidence that she knew exactly what her relationship with Henry was doing to his marriage. Besides the realization dawning on Henry that Anne, like Katherine, would not provide him with a living son, Anne's jealousy of Jane was causing many a row between them.

This is not to say that Henry wouldn't have found a way to be rid of Anne had he not fallen for Jane. But without a woman waiting in the wings, would Henry have chosen execution? After all, the debacle with Katherine was still fresh in his mind and he didn't want to have to wait to marry Jane and get a male heir while he argued and went to court with Anne. What could be faster and less hassle than beheading a woman one day and getting engaged the next!?

Jane's kindness to the Lady Mary (Katherine's daughter) and the Lady Elizabeth (Anne's daughter) is the one area in which I can never fault her. Unlike Anne, Jane was a loving, devoted step-mother no matter whose child. She made Henry settle into a somewhat normal family life and give his daughters the attention they deserved. In this way, Jane was as advertised.

But I despise the notion (and written history) that Jane was a witless simp who happened to be in the right place at the right time. She didn't need a formal education to know that she had the power - and she used it. This reputedly innocent woman and her family certainly had a part in the downfall and death of Anne, yet somehow escaped the accusing eye of history.

I took this photo, to the right, just outside the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The plaque combines Henry VIII's coat of arms with Jane Seymour's, held by angels under a crown with gold Tudor roses and Henry's motto across the bottom. Just above the motto and on either side of the shield are their initials "H" and "I" entwined in lovers' knots. Click on the photo to enlarge to see the initials. (The I is for Iana or Iohanna - Jane in Latin) There is also a plaque inside the chapel that claims Jane's heart was buried there.

On This Day in Tudor History:

July 12, 1543, Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife: Kateryn Parr at Hampton Court Palace. Kateryn was Henry's queen consort upon his death in January 1547.

As Queen, Kateryn was partially responsible for reconciling Henry with his daughters from his first two marriages, who would later become Queens Regnant, Mary and Elizabeth. She also developed a good relationship with Henry's son Edward, King Edward VI, and Lady Jane Grey, The "Nine Days Queen," lived with Princess Elizabeth and Dowager Queen Kateryn at Chelsea.

Kateryn Parr (the wife who "survived" in the famous mnemonic) only outlived Henry VIII by a year and a half, dying of childbed fever after giving birth to her daughter, Mary, by fourth husband, Thomas Seymour.

Courtship (well, barge)

When I started planning my trip to England on my computer I researched a few "Tudor Tours" but all were overpriced and few even returned my emails. I did get a couple of suggestions from friends who have been to or live in England. One such suggestion was to visit Hampton Court Palace by boat.
Thursday morning I made my way right back to where I'd spent the day before: Westminster. This time I stayed on the north side of the Thames and bought a ticket to Hampton Court leaving from Westminster Pier by river barge. I would sail to the palace from London exactly as the Tudor kings and queens had done! Unfortunately, it sounded way more romantic than it actually was.

It turned out to be a decent day - mostly sunny but just a little windy and cool. Lovely for a river cruise - if that cruise was about an hour. Even two hours would be tolerable. Three hours on a barge were a bit much. But I stuck it out, taking random photos of homes and other things along the Thames to occupy my time. The one good thing was the lack of walking for three hours. Whew - I'm looking rough as I sit on that barge!
But it was all worth it when we pulled up beside the magnificent palace that Cardinal Thomas Wolsey built.

After the Tower, this was the place where I knew I would come in direct contact, yet again, with Anne Boleyn and all the places and things I have been reading and dreaming about for three years. Sure enough, the very first thing I encountered reminded me Anne was here:

More surprisingly, though, just inside the palace I was promptly invited to a re-enactment of the wedding of Henry VIII to Kateryn Parr: his sixth and final wife. Just moments later, I came upon the bride and groom greeting people in the dining hall.

And then the newlyweds we presented to us in the great hall just outside the privy chamber.

As goofy as it was (and as bad as Henry's beard was) it was actually kind of fun too. I really enjoyed the talk by two courtiers explaining each piece of their clothing and the type of people they would be at the court. I loved walking through the rooms escorted by a woman dressed in the same clothing she would wear in 1540! History and fashion geek that I am, I LOVED it.
More than "feeling" the souls of Anne or the others as I did at the Tower, Hampton Court bewitched me with it's authenticity and preservation of a 500 year-old, Tudor-era palace. They keep the kitchens just as they were when they would serve up to 1000 guests one meal at court!

A 16th century kitchen prep area...

Although I couldn't take photos inside the chapel royal, I did go in and stand in the Holy Day Closet where Anne worshipped and the obstinate Spanish Ambassador paid her obeisance just before her fall from grace. Knowing this was so intense. There was also a plaque inside that claims although Jane Seymour's body is interred with Henry at Windsor, her heart is rumored to be buried there. (Although I can find no other documentation of this.) It was at Hampton that Jane gave birth to the future King Edward VI and died there shortly after.
Although the white portions of the palace behind me here are clearly additions made well after the Tudor Dynasty and more in the Georgian style, the beautiful gardens and grounds are laid out the way Henry VIII had planned them.

Another of my favorite parts of Hampton: The Astronomical Clock - designed in a time when they believed the Sun moved around the immovable Earth. I love that it was showing the correct date, time and astrological sign!