Topic: Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour (1508 – 24 October 1537) was Queen consort of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as Queen Consort following the latter's execution for High Treason and adultery in May 1536. Like her predecessor, Jane was a commoner. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, a son who briefly reigned as Edward VI. She was the only one of Henry's wives to receive a queen's funeral and his only consort to be buried beside him in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Jane Seymour was born at Wulfhall, Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, the daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wulfhall and Margery Wentworth. Through her maternal grandfather, she was a descendant of King Edward III of England and the Percy family. Because of this, she and King Henry VIII were fifth cousins three times removed. She was a half second cousin to her predecessor Anne Boleyn, sharing a great-grandmother, Elizabeth Cheney. Her exact birth date is debated; usually given as 1509 or even 1510 but it has been noted that at her funeral, 29 women walked in succession. Since it was customary for the attendant company to mark every year of the deceased's life in numbers, this implies she was born in 1508.

She was not educated as highly as King Henry's previous wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. She could read and write a little but was much better at needlework and household management, which were considered much more necessary for women. Jane's needlework was reported to be beautiful and elaborate; some of her work survived up to 1652, when it is recorded to have been given to the Seymour family. After her death, it was noted that Henry was an "enthusiastic embroiderer".