By , the king had become a very frustrated, embittered man. He had been denied the one thing he really needed to ensure the security of his kingdom and continuance of his dynasty: a male heir. Aged 45, he had broken with Rome and pushed England to the brink of religious revolution.
But ultimately, he had no heir to show for it. The Henry that Jane married was irascible and bad tempered, yet oddly sentimental and increasingly sanctimonious.
This was a man who was very autocratic — his word was law. His marriage to Jane was the beginning of the decline. A once-great sportsman, he was now suffering from a lasting leg injury, and between and he gained 17 inches round the waist.
He certainly pursued her. We have a letter from Henry written in the style of courtly love that was prevalent then, and he does seem to have thought highly of Jane and respected her. In many ways, Jane was appealing to Henry precisely because she was the complete antithesis of Anne. She was a gentle influence and he could find some calm with her. Afterwards, he shut himself away at Windsor and refused to see anyone, even his ministers.
Whether or not this was true, Anne Boleyn was certainly very wary of Jane when she was queen. Lots of sources tell us that there were scratches and blows between the pair. She gave the king his son and died 12 days later. But there was something odd about the chronology of the sources, so I took a closer look. So I went on Facebook to ask whether anyone knew any doctors. I ran all the sources past a long-term critical care nurse, three doctors and a midwife.
On the evidence we have, it sounds as if Jane died of a pulmonary embolism [the blockage of an artery in the lungs]. We considered all sorts of theories, and the consensus was that this was the likeliest scenario.
If Jane or her son, King Edward VI, had lived longer, I think her reputation would be greater and she may well have been hailed as a great Tudor matriarch. I think we should look back on her as not just a sly little minx, or a pasty-faced little yes girl, or the bitch that brought down Anne Boleyn. Traditionally, it has been assumed that Jane died from puerperal fever, yet there is actually no mention of fever in the historical sources.
And when I looked at the chronology of events, it looked as if she suffered two distinct illnesses. She was in labour from the afternoon of 9th October until her son was born at 2am on the 12th. Thus a Caesarian section must be ruled out, and there is no evidence that there were complications during labour or delivery; the apparent health and vigour of her son is also testimony to that. Not until the afternoon of 16th October, four days after Edward was born, did Jane become unwell. Her condition was described by her chaplain and physicians in a bulletin stating that she had suffered.
All this night she hath been very sick. Jane recovered the next day, Wednesday, and there are no further reports of her being unwell again until the evening of Friday, 19th October. Of the king's six wives, Seymour was the only spouse buried with him in the same tomb after his death. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.
Jane Austen was a Georgian era author, best known for her social commentary in novels including 'Sense and Sensibility,' 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Emma. Lady Jane Grey is one of the most romanticized monarchs of Tudor England. Her nine-day reign was an unsuccessful attempt to maintain Protestant rule. This challenge cost her the throne and her head.
Jane Goodall is known for her years of living among chimpanzees in Tanzania to create one of the most trailblazing studies of primates in modern times. She was executed on charges of incest, witchcraft, adultery and conspiracy against the king. Henry VIII, king of England, was famously married six times and played a critical role in the English Reformation, turning his country into a Protestant nation.
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