Seymour, Jane (1508?-1537), was the third and favorite wife of King Henry VIII of England. She died shortly after the birth of the couple’s only child, Edward. After Henry died in 1547, the child succeeded to the throne at age 9 as King Edward VI.
Jane was probably born in 1508 or 1509 in the county of Wiltshire in southwestern England. Jane served as a lady in waiting to each of Henry’s first two wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.
Henry’s complicated marriage history was partly driven by his assumption, shared by most people at the time, that a male heir was necessary to guarantee a peaceful succession to the throne. Henry and Catherine of Aragon had several children, but only a daughter, Mary, survived infancy. Henry wanted to have the marriage annulled (canceled) so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, with whom he had fallen in love. After the Roman Catholic pope refused to grant an annulment, the king and his advisers had Parliament declare England independent of papal authority in 1533. Henry obtained an annulment from an English church court and married Anne, but her first child was another daughter, Elizabeth. Catherine of Aragon died in early 1536. A few weeks later, Anne gave birth to a stillborn son. Anne was tried on false charges of unfaithfulness and beheaded on May 19, 1536.
Henry became engaged to Jane the day after Anne’s execution. They married on May 30. Jane befriended both of Henry’s daughters. She helped arrange a reconciliation between Henry and Mary, who had been exiled from the court by the king. Unlike her predecessors, Jane generally tried to avoid involvement in the religious and political controversies of the time.
Jane gave birth to Edward, a healthy baby son, on Oct. 12, 1537. She became ill a few days later, apparently from complications following the birth. She died at Hampton Court Palace in southwestern London on October 24. When Henry died in 1547, he was buried beside her in the chapel at Windsor Castle.
