Jane Seymour was the third wife of Henry VIII and the only one to give him a surviving son. But she is a rather shadowy figure. Most of Henry’s wives are strong personalities in their own right.
Jane was born in Wiltshire to Sir John Seymour and his wife Margery and was one of a large family. Her family were distantly related to Henry….Her eldest brother Edward and another brother, Thomas were both courtiers who were involved in politics during the reign of Edward VI.
Her birth date is unclear but its probably around 1507 or 1508. Like Anne Boleyn she was a lady in waiting to Katherine of Aragon. Unlike Anne, she does not seem to have had much education nor did she travel abroad. Little is known of her early life. She was said to have had a romance with a young country gentleman called William Dormer but he married another woman.
Jane seems to have been a conservative minded Catholic and to ahve been loyal to Katherine, when she was queen and afterwards. She remained at court, and was a maid to Anne Boleyn… but it is probable that she never gave the new queen full loyalty.
In the last months of Anne’s reign, stories emerged of Henry’s having a flirtation with Jane, and Anne attacking both of them for kissing. Anne was increasingly hysterical and frightened after her miscarriage in January 1536 as she feared that having lost another child, Henry might now try to put her aside as he had done with his first wife.
Jane seems to have been coy with Henry, telling him that she would not be his mistress and saying that if he wanted to give her a present, he should do so when she had received a good offer of marriage.
End Part I
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