Today we continue this blog's obsession with the Tudor period with a discussion about King Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour.
In January 1536 Henry's second wife, Anne Boelyn, miscarried a son at four months gestation. This followed two other miscarriages of male infants after the birth of a healthy daughter, Elizabeth. This proved to be the final straw for Henry, who placed Anne on trial for witchcraft and had her beheaded soon after on the 19th May 1536.
In between the miscarriage and the beheading, Henry moved his mistress, Jane Seymour, into the palace. The two were formally engaged on the 20th May, 1536, the day after Anne's execution, and married ten days later on the 30th May at Whitehall. However Jane was never crowned as Queen as court remained away from London to avoid an outbreak of plague.
