A Brief History
On October 24th, 1537, in a cruel twist of fate, Queen Jane Seymour died of complications following childbirth after having just 12 days earlier provided Henry VIII with his much longed-for son and heir.
Digging Deeper
There is a popular rhyme that people can memorize to remember the fates of Henry VIII’s six wives:
divorced, beheaded, died,
divorced, beheaded, survived.
Jane, the only one of his wives to bear that name (the rest were either “Catherines” or “Annes”), was the one who died. If she had not died, however, she would have been the one who survived, as she was the only one of his wives to bear Henry VIII a legitimate son who survived infancy, an achievement that would have secured her position as queen indefinitely.
In the first article of this series on the Six Wives of Henry VIII, the possibility that Catherine of Aragon might have lied about being a virgin at the time of her marriage to Henry was discussed. The second article focused on the consequences of Anne Boleyn denying Henry sex and what might have happened had she not. This third article contemplates another historical “what if,” that being what might have happened in regard to the Protestant religious reform of Jane’s son Edward VI had she not died.
Though Henry VIII had separated from the Roman Catholic Church and created his own Anglican Church in order to divorce himself from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, at heart he remained a Catholic. The main difference between him and other Catholics, however, was that he no longer recognized the authority of the pope and had proclaimed himself head of the his own church. Because he no longer trusted the established religious institutions and because he needed money, in 1536 he began with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. To ease his conscious, he had his henchmen find proof of corruption in the religious orders. His argument was that they were no longer interested in the spiritual well-being of the English people but that they more concerned with accumulating vast amount of personal wealth through the sale of relics and indulgences (forgiveness for one’s sins), etc.
Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour, whom he married in 1536, was an ardent and pious Catholic and was horrified by the reforms. Though she was not able to influence his policies, she was able to reconcile him with his Catholic daughter Mary from whom he had been estranged following the divorce from her mother Catherine of Aragon. Due to Jane’s short tenure as queen, however, she was not able to accomplish much else except, of course, for her great victory – the birth of the next king.
Despite this great triumph, she remains the least-written-about wife of Henry VIII. As the only wife to do her duty of providing a male heir, however, she was rewarded by being viewed by Henry VIII as his “one true wife” and by being included in family portraits long after her death, to the exclusion of the current wife. Significantly, she was also the wife next to whom Henry VIII chose to be buried.
Right before her death, Jane had just secured her ace, the trump card that might have given her confidence to intervene in Henry VIII’s politics. During her pregnancy, after she asked Henry to be lenient toward those who had participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace, a Catholic uprising, Henry had warned her not to meddle in his affairs and used the fate of Anne Boleyn as an example of what could happen if a wife dared to cross him. With a son, Jane could have afforded to be more bold again, as Henry would have granted her every wish and would never have done anything to compromise the position of his heir.
As good a Catholic as she was, Jane would certainly have ensured that her son be raised in a conservative manner, and during Henry VIII’s lifetime, this was the case. When Henry VIII died, however, Edward was just 9 and still very impressionable. He greatly admired Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and with a willing monarch, Cranmer was finally able to establish Protestantism. Clerical celibacy and the Mass were abolished, and religious services were no longer held in Latin but in English.
Now the question. Would Edward VI have become a fanatical Protestant if his mother had survived his birth? As she was not an educated woman, she most likely would not have become her son’s regent during the duration of his minority, however, as his mother, she still would have wielded considerable influence over him. And as a devout Catholic, she would have always have been suspicious of Cranmer, and this stance would most likely have made an impression on her son. For all anyone knows, she might even have encouraged Edward VI to renew English ties with Rome. She certainly would not have tolerated Edward’s treatment of his older sister Mary when he demanded that she abandon Catholicism and forbade her from freely practicing her religion when she did not.
As it was, Mary succeeded her brother, reversed his Protestant reforms, which included burning Archbishop Cranmer as a heretic, and reintroduced Catholicism as the religion of England. She did not live long enough, however, or produce the much needed heir in order to firmly and completely reestablish the Catholic faith as the one true faith of the land, and it was Edward’s and not her religious stance that would become the basis of the Anglican Church during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Who knows what poor Catholic Jane would ever have thought about her son being the first Protestant king of England? She died during her moment of glory and before she could make her own meaningful impression on the world of politics, so all that is left is a bunch of “what ifs” and a woman whose historical relevance is solely connected to her reproductive capability.
Question for students (and subscribers): What if Jane Seymour had survived? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see the following:
Licence, Amy. The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories. Amberley Publishing, 2014.
Norton, Elizabeth. Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love. Amberley Publishing, 2010.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="5887 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=5887">41 Comments
I find it interesting that she is the least written about wife of Henry the VIII. The sequence of events seem to have played out most unfortunately for her!
If she had survived, i am sure he would have rid himself of her sooner or later.
I imagine as his mother, she would have certainly made an impact on the decisions that he made. It is unfortunate that having a male child made her more desirable as a wife, as my first child was a girl– I am glad I was not around in the times when girl children were irrelevant.
It’s bad enough to imagine someone having sex with Henry VIII. She probably died of disgust after realizing that five other woman and probably many more also had sex with him.
Jane is my favorite of Henry’s wives. The question about how Edward would have ended up though, well… that’s entirely up to his father, not his mother. Jane would have had little to do with his education. Jane was “Bound to obey and serve”, and as the male heir, she would have had very little to do with Edward. Jane’s position would have been secure, that is for sure, had she survived… but I”m not sure she would have been pushy with Henry about how she wanted her son to be raised, or what religion she wanted him to be brought up in. I think that Edward would still have ended up being the protestant king
I love that there is a rhyme to help people remember the fates of the wives! What happened to… Till death do us part? — DAVID WARDLE
Jane seemed like the answer to Henry’s quest for love. He finally received a male heir, seemingly ending his rampage of marriages. With her death, Henry went on further, never truly living happily.
Its weird how he had so many wives, but she was his FAVORITE and wanted to be burried by her when he died
interesting article! I mean this was a time were having a lot of mistresses was the norm for royalty
Although he had many wives he still chose to be placed next to her in the grave. Clearly she was his favorite “wife”
Its nice to see that he finally found someone that he actually loved.
is it just me or is it sad because of the fact he had “one true wife” shouldn’t just you’re one and only wife be you’re true wife? its just crazy to me to think he was married that many times
Loved the rhyme in the beginning, never heard it before! It is nice to know that Henry did at least have some type of feelings toward his wives, as shown by letting her survive and be buried next to him. Other than that, he was probably hated by all of his wives.
interesting article. she was clearly his favorite wife
Lucky for Jane that she bore Henry a son! Unfortunate that she could have been queen forever if she had not died giving Henry the one thing he had truly wanted.
I have no doubt that King Edward would have been much more lenient, if not outright supportive, of Catholics if his mother had survived. A child is often greatly influenced by those with whom he is raised and the addition of a strongly Catholic mother would undoubtedly have influenced Edward’s world view.
More than likely, he was hated by all of his lives. The rhyme was good but I wonder if he meant it.
She gave Henry what he wanted and gave her life just to give him a son
It is sad to see that a king would go to such horrible lengths to kill his wives just because they didn’t give him a son.
Henry finally got what he wanted at the cost of Jane’s life.
This kind of thing is insane. Did these women really think that Henry “loved” them by any stretch of the imagination? It was so obvious that he was just using them to continue his genetic lineage so his son could become royalty? Did they not have a choice in becoming his spouse? I don’t understand why anyone would do this especially if they are the 5th or 6th victim.
I do not understand why these women wanted to be with Henry. If I was somebodies 3rd wife to be I would think something weird is going on with this man.
I think that if Jane would have lived that Henry would have gotten tired of her and slept with other women. I think that if Jane didn’t die that she would have a huge influence on her son and he would have listened to her.
It’s interesting that Henry’s “one true wife” is the least talked about one.
I can’t believe King Henry was buried next to Jane just because she produced an heir. It just goes to show that Henry never really cared about any of his wives, but was only concerned about keeping the Tudor name alive.
I have read quite a few comments on here, and some of them are very good, and some of them are slightly uninformed. Jane Seymour may have not had a choice in her marriage to King Henry the VIII. If you know the politics, laws, and traditions of the time, she would have been pushed by her family (mostly father, uncles, and brothers) to please and ingratiate herself with Henry. He was for all intents and purposes a large spoiled child. He was narcissistic to an extreme, and believed himself to know best in all things, even when he didn’t. This attitude towards everything (and I do mean everything) in reality made him very tyrannical. People knew that displeasing him, instead of stroking his ego, could mean interrogation, arrest, and maybe even death. When he got mad at you, even over small slights, he would do everything in his means to destroy you, to prove you were a horrible person. This persecution would continue until he was distracted, or until his anger abated. He was the most powerful man in the kingdom and held with the idea of absolute monarchy. Meaning his power, granted by God, was absolute, and no one could overrule him. God help anyone who tried. If Katherine of Aragon had not been so well connected and so liked, as well as being married to him for 20ish years, it would have been much simpler for him to just off her too. But she was and so he couldn’t. Her position in the world was the only thing that saved her life, but what a life. She died very ill, never seeing her daughter again, and poor as a church mouse. With the woman who usurped her place demanding her family royal jewels (given to her from her family, brought from spain) and getting them, her daughters christening gown, and she was subjected to horrible slander. He couldn’t kill her, or divorce her, so he murdered her spirit, or he tried anyways.
So for Jane Seymour here is the political ground. She is a woman, she really is insignificant and owned bodily by her father until he gives her in marriage to a husband. She is seemingly devout, and demure. Something the king wants after the tumultuous three years he was with Anne. He still needs a son. Both his first wife, and his second wife are now dead. He was already cultivating a relationship with her, as mistress, before the death of queen Anne. Her family probably pushed her into the relationship, because even the kings mistresses commonly received favors from the king, such as elevation in status, either at court, or in the nobility. All of these things together are the main reasons why she was Henry’s third wife. The comments about her choosing to not be that because by now, especially after a queen has been beheaded and one relegated to forgotten until she died isn’t an appealing idea, are irrelevant. You are of the belief she had a choice. I am pretty certain her only choice at this point is marry Henry, or commit suicide. Joining a nunnery would have been another choice, BUT it would have been an affront to Henry who had a string of mistresses for the 20 years he was married to both his first and second wives. Bessy Blount being one of the more famous since she gave him a son and he recognized the Bastard, and poor little Henry Fitzroy was born during the marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Even Queen Anne’s Sister Mary was Mistress to Henry before Anne ever caught his notice. Had she insulted the King by refusing his advances, and joined a nunnery, it would have resulted in much hardship for her family. The king may not have been able to inflict her with his anger, so he would have taken it out on her family. He was well known for his temper tantrums.
So we know she had to favor, and marry him. But what would have happened if she had lived…? Well, I think the author above had some good ideas. Henry’s favor and love that he cherished her memory with, because she gave him a son, probably would have meant that she could have lived her life thereafter, pretty much doing what she wants. As long as she doesn’t do anything that would anger the king. He had already taken up mistresses (as he always did) while she was pregnant with their son. He probably would have continued to do his conjugal duties, and they may have had more children. She would have had some say in how they were raised and educated. Henry may have gone back over to the catholic faith, because he never really wanted a break with Rome, he really just wanted a divorce, but he had offended Rome, had taken a stance, and needed to have an explanation for why he had let things go so far. Going back to Rome would be making him eat crow. Anne Boleyn’s charges gave him the excuse he needed to go back to Rome. Marrying a devout Catholic girl, like Jane, would show his devotion to returning. It probably would be a surprise to know that there is a record of him courting Rome to regain his membership in the Catholic Church. The only thing standing in his way… Is himself. The pope will not accept Henry back if he doesn’t renounce that he is the head of church and state as he claimed when he broke with Rome. Henry will not relent on that point. So he does the next best thing, when it becomes apparent that this will be a point that he won’t get Rome to accept. He keeps the parts of protestantism that allows him to make this point in his articles of faith, but he continues with the rest of the tenants of the catholic faith. So Henry’s church is for all intents and purposes catholic without being catholic. It really wasn’t until his son Edward came to the throne, being guided by his Seymour uncle who is now a practicing protestant, that he makes the changes even his father wouldn’t, making what is known as the original anglican Church of England. I think this would have still happened even if his mother had lived. She may have been able to plant some seeds of mistrust and doubt about the bishop, but never her brother, his uncle. As for her lack of education keeping her from being Queen Regent had she lived, that depends on how much of Jane’s disposition really was demure, and sweet. If she was feigning these things for her own survival, we may have seen a queen regent. It takes a strong, cunning and patient woman to feign demurity, and sweetness. I think that if she was feigning she would have been most definitely able to pull this off. She wouldn’t be the first. Henry the Eighths Grandmother Margaret Beaufort, was indomitable, but only if it was in her best interest. She was tenacious in her ability to feign womanly affect while plotting death, treason, and all sorts of other intrigue that eventually led to her son being a crowned victor. I guess my point is, that yes women were owned chattel at this time, but if they knew how to play to men’s sensibilities, they could gain from it. Letting men believe they are making all the decisions while you are pulling the strings is how those women survived. I also believe that if Anne Boleyn had practiced more of the qualities that got her her crown, after she had gotten it. She may have lived and not been beheaded. Sent to a nunnery or divorced, but not beheaded. She gave them all the ammo and they just had to embelish the story and get rid of any who could refute it. I don’t think our forward feminine thinking now could survive back then. We are all to used to being able to express our ideas and opinions. We frown on abusive behavior that was accepted as normal for a husband to use back then. We would have had King Henry’s head examined and he would have theoretically died on the altar of public opinion, instead of us dying on a scaffold for talking badly about the King. There was no freedom of speech back then, there were no womens rights, there were no faultless divorces, there was no child support. He could kill whom he wished with a signature, bastardize his children on a whim, and rid himself of a wife who displeased him with a snap of his fingers and a slew of slanderous charges. To say she had a choice, is ignorant. To say she should have run the other way because he had already had two wives and probably hundreds of mistresses, is irrelevant, to say she wouldn’t have had any ability to influence her child and step children is ridiculous. Two of those things she couldn’t control, and one of those were actually part of her duty as the queen mother. Two of her successors, Anne of Cleves, and Catherine Parr did just that. They took a great interest in the education, and bringing up of all three of the children. During her short reign Jane Seymour did as well. Mary was not the only child she tried to reconcile to her father, she was the only one successfully brought back to court. When it became clear to her that Elizabeth was still a sore subject she helped with the child princesses welfare from her own purse. I believe eventually they all would have been reconciled had she lived.
It is crazy to wonder what would of happened if she was able to voice her opinion more in politics or sway England back to being catholic!
i wonder if she did live after child birth what power and say so would she of had to change things in england at the time and if henry wouldnt have tried to kill her beausce of those things she might of done
This is a hard one to say, as the psyche of Henry VIII can only be analyzed from actions 500 years ago, and from that perspective, things still look still bleak for Jane.
I wonder what would have happened is she had not died after childbirth. I know from this time period that this marriage was most likely arranged.
I feel that many women in those days died from child birth which is a tragic thing. However I do believe had she not have died during childbirth what kind of impact she would have had on history. Alone with other women who died during childbirth.
She was not afraid to make her voice loud and clear!
Although it would definitely be interesting to see how things would have turned out, she did die, and I personally am not a fan of the what if game.
It must have been scary knowing what risk you are being put in when marrying a king. The pressure to have a son must have driven many women crazy. Even when they do have a son, they aren’t really appreciated for the event, it is just like a demand was satisfied.
He didnt care as long as he got his heir!
I’m sure if she had lived through this then there would have been much more of a story to be told between her and Henry and I’m sure he would have put an end to any opinions or actions she tried.
I love these, “What if?” based articles. Very interesting.
She was definitely his favorite out of all of his wifes
if jayne would have survived i think she would have raised her son as a catholic
It is funny how people who stay quiet and preform their job stay under the radar of the media, even in history!
A very good chance this changed the outcome of England’s future in a much bigger way then most people know.