JANE SEYMOUR. 1509. Jane Seymour was born about 1509, apparently in her father's house of Wolfhall. Some tapestry and bedroom furniture which she worked there as a girl came later into the possession of Charles I, who presented it to William Seymour, Marquis of Hertford, in 1647. During the struggle between Charles and the Parliament, Seymour had to compound with the latter in order to retain these relics, the sum to be paid amounting to sixty pounds. It is uncertain if any of these things are still in existence.* Jane Seymour has been stated by Miss Strickland to be the subject of a portrait in the Louvre gallery, which was said to represent one of the French Queen's maids of honour, although no name is stated in the inscription. The portrait appears probably to have been that of Anne of Cleves, but it had not been identified at the time Miss Strickland wrote.t All that we know for certain of Jane's early life is that she was attached to Catherine of Aragon's household, as lady in waiting, not long before Catherine ceased to be Queen, and was subsequently placed in the same position with Anne Boleyn. She was described by Chapuys, the Emperor's ambassador in England, in 1536, as "of middle stature and no great beauty," but though he did not praise her for her beauty, he did for her intelligence. On September 10, 1535, she appears to have been at Wolfhall on the occasion of the King's visit to * Dict. Nat. Biog.; Wilts Archæolog. Mag., xv, 205. 1535. + Dict. Nat. Biog. t Dict. Nat. Biog.; Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, xi, 32. her father and to have assisted in entertaining him.* Up to this time she had passed unnoticed amongst the other ladies of the Court; but, during the few days of his visit, the King was able to discover the many brilliant qualities of her mind, and the charm of her manner. Pleased by her conversation he, from that time, took more notice of her and frequently sought her company for a short period, during the various Court functions; a preference which speedily excited the jealousy and ill-feeling of the Queen, Anne Boleyn, and of many of the Court beauties. In February of the following year it has been 1536. stated that the King gave her some costly presents, and it is most probable that he may have offered them to her. There is nothing, however, to show that she accepted his gifts; indeed, from her conduct soon after, it is more than probable that she may have declined them. An old story says that she possessed a locket containing a portrait of the King, which flew open on one occasion when the Queen, in a fit of temper, struck at her with such a force as to tear the locket from her neck,† but this appears to be the only present ever actually mentioned and was one certainly that she could scarcely, with civility, have refused. The story of the presents probably originated from the gossip of the other ladies of the Court who, in their jealousy, were not likely to adhere too strictly to the truth. Chapuys, however, gives credence to it in a gossiping letter which he wrote to the Emperor on February 21, 1536. "Upon the whole, the general opinion is that the concubine's (Anne Boleyn's) miscarriage was entirely owing to defective constitution and her utter inability to bear male children; whilst others imagine that the fear of the King treating her as he treated his late Queen, which is not unlikely, considering his behaviour towards a damsel of the Court, named Miss *Dict. Nat. Biog. Seymour, to whom he has latterly made very valuable presents. In March, however, the King actually did send her a purse full of sovereigns, together with a letter, said to contain dishonourable proposals. I think it will be generally agreed that her behaviour on this occasion. refutes any story of her having accepted gifts previously. Chapuys, writing to the Emperor on April 1, says: "Just at this moment I receive a message from the Marchioness (of Dorset) confirming the information I once had from Master Geliot (Eliot?), namely, that some days ago, the King being here in London, and the young Miss Seymour, to whom he is paying court, at Greenwich, he sent her a purse full of sovereigns, together with a letter; and that the young damsel, to whom he is paying court, after respectfully kissing the letter, returned it to the messenger without opening it, and then, falling on her knees, begged the royal messenger to entreat the King, in her name, to consider that she was a well-born damsel, the daughter of good and honourable parents, without blame or reproach of any kind; there was no treasure in this world that she valued as much as her honour, and on no account would she lose it, even if she were to die a thousand deaths. That if the King wished to make her a present of money, she requested him to reserve it for such a time as God would be pleased to send her some advantageous marriage."† Thus did a young girl reply to the advances of a King, and that King Henry VIII! Need more be said before we cast aside, with all the contempt they deserve, these tales and insinuations, brought forward by idle scandalmongers in the past to destroy a maiden's honour ? To the surprise of many, this answer of Jane Seymour's appears to have pleased the King, and to have made him like and respect her more than before. Chapuys, in his letter to the Emperor, proceeds to say: * Spanish State Papers, 1536. † Spanish State Papers, 43, 1536. "The Marchioness also sent me word that in consequence of this refusal, the King's love for the said damsel had marvellously encreased, and that he had said to her that not only did he praise and commend her virtuous behaviour on the occasion, but that in order to prove the sincerity of his love, and the honesty of his views towards her, he had resolved not to converse with her in future except in the presence of one of her relatives, and that for this reason the King had taken away, from Master Cromwell's apartments in the palace, a room to which he can, when he likes, have access through certain galleries without being seen, of which room the young lady's elder brother and his wife have already taken posession."* The brother referred to is Sir Edward Seymour, afterwards Duke of Somerset and Protector of the Realm, a man whose honour no one has ever dared to call in question. Seeing the way the King's affections were tending, many courtiers, not of Anne Boleyn's party, made haste to press their advice and wishes upon young Jane Seymour. She was advised, even beseeched, by those who hated the Queen, "to tell the King frankly, and without reserve, how much his subjects abominate the marriage contracted with the concubine (Anne Boleyn), and that not one considers it legitimate, and that this declaration ought to be made in the presence of witnesses of the titled nobility of this kingdom, who are to attest the truth of her statement should the King request them on their oath and fealty to do so." Chapuys himself, in his letter, appears to have been very anxious to lend a helping hand in endeavouring to persuade Jane to assist in the schemes of the Catholics, and, by her influence with the King, to bring about Anne Boleyn's fall, and thus aim a blow at the Reformation, towards which Anne was inclined.† Jane Seymour, however, does not appear to have acted upon the suggestions made to her; in fact, during her *Spanish State Papers, 43, † Chapuys to the Emperor. Chapuys to the Emperor. 1536. Spanish State Papers, 43, 1536. short period of power she made a point of never interfering in political or religious matters, knowing that it was none of her business to meddle in the affairs of the country. The fate of Anne Boleyn depended upon the King's humour or caprice. No word of Jane's could have hastened or delayed her fall, which was inevitable. Anne Boleyn did not suffer because the King had wearied of her, but because of her own inconstancy, which rendered her unfit to continue the wife of any man, or to remain a Queen of any nation. Soon after the commencement of Anne Boleyn's trial, or rather of the preliminary proceedings, Jane Seymour moved to a house belonging to Sir Nicholas Carew, about seven miles from London. Before the 15th of May, the day of Anne's trial, she was moved to a house on the Thames, within a mile of Whitehall, and it was here that she learnt of Anne's condemnation from Sir Francis Bryan. The King, himself, called upon her that afternoon.* On the day of Anne Boleyn's execution, Archbishop Cranmer issued a dispensation for the marriage of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour without publication of banns, and in spite of the relationship "in the third and third degrees of affinity" between the parties.† The next morning Jane Seymour was privately taken down to Hampton Court Palace, where she was formally betrothed to the King. It has generally been stated that their marriage took place the same day in the church near Wolfhall, and that the wedding banquet took place in a large barn near that house. This story is, however, uncorroborated by any contemporary correspondence.§ Eight Dict. Nat. Biog. In Notes and Queries, vol. vii, p. 42, there is a detailed pedigree tracing the descent of Jane Seymour, through Margaret Wentworth, her mother, by an intermarriage with a Wentworth, and a grand-daughter of Hotspur, Lord Percy, from the blood royal of England. Friedmann, Anne Boleyn, ii, 354. Letters and Papers, x, 411; Wilts Archæolog. Mag., xv, 140, seq., containing a drawing of the barn. |