Jane Seymour



Jane Seymour was a character in The Tudors and the third wife of Henry VIII. She is Henry's favorite wife and the only consort to give him a male heir. After Anne Boleyn's execution, Jane marries Henry about ten days later. She is shown great favor by Henry, but unfortunately after the birth of Prince Edward, later King Edward VI, Jane contracts a childbirth disease, puerperal fever, and dies less than two weeks after Edward's birth. Henry feels her loss greatly, and mourns for her three years. However, Henry was unfaithful to Jane as well.

She is portrayed by Anita Briem in the second season before the actress is replaced by Annabelle Wallis in season 3. She is a very popular queen.

Season Two
Jane first appears at Wolfhall as the daughter of John Seymour. Henry is besotted by her entrance and his clear infatuation leaves the audience unsure of his ardor towards Anne. He continues thinking about her and it is clear that he intends to make Jane his next queen.

Henry gives Jane a locket with a picture of him inside it; Jane promises to treasure it and says that should anyone ever open her grave again, they will find Henry's locket with her. He leaves the room and it seems the locket has become the first emblem of their mutual affection.

Anne catches Henry looking at Jane but doesn't mention it, although she clearly knows something is going on. Jane is "sworn in" as one of Anne's ladies in waiting, much to the queen's displeasure. During a jousting match Henry falls off his horse and is crushed, much to the devastation and shock of his kingdom. Anne is deeply distressed and prays for her husband's life in the church, where Thomas Cromwell finds her.

Jane meanwhile prays as well. Before the jousting match she had given Henry her ribbon. Henry grins while his is unconscious, and wakes up. Everybody around him is shocked, surprised and ecstatic that their King is alive; but Henry only thinks of Jane Seymour. She dawdles around his room, and he walks in. He says Jane is the reason he is alive because the excitement of having her ribbon and seeing her image during his unconsciousness woke him up. Jane denies it, but Henry insists. She consents to him kissing her and they begin kissing rather passionately. However, the spirit of the moment is ruined when Queen Anne walks in on them.

Because of her distress at seeing Henry with another woman, Anne miscarries and loses her last chance at having a lasting marriage with Henry. When she dramatically falls from favor, Jane becomes her replacement. Once Jane is betrothed to the King, she says she hopes Mary will be reinstated as heir apparent. Henry, however, has no worries and takes Jane round the corner of the garden to kiss her. Jane is getting dressed for engagement to Henry while Anne Boleyn is getting dressed for her execution. Jane doesn't seem to care that much, and is seen one last time in the season two finale while Henry eats a swan pie in celebration of killing Anne, as the swan was one of two swans he saw earlier, mates for life, and killing one of them symbolizes Henry killing his life mate (Anne).

Season Three
Jane is waiting for Henry in her wedding dress at the church. When Henry arrives, they marry and a celebration is held. Catherine Brandon tells her husband Charles Brandon that she thinks Jane will make Henry happy. Everybody celebrates the rise of the new queen. Most of Anne Boleyn's hated enemies are happy to be rid of her. Jane and Henry dance, and mutual affection is easy to spot between them. In their private chambers, Henry and Jane force everyone else to leave so they can make love and therefore consummate their marriage as soon as possible. Everyone leaves, as Henry and Jane consummate their marriage although this remains unseen. As Queen Jane's popularity spreads, everybody becomes increasingly happy and it seems court life has changed for everyone. New affairs begin as well. Jane begins pleading with Henry to restore the abbeys and allow Mary back to court.

He then allows Mary back to court under Jane's influence. His wife and daughter become good friends from the moment they meet, and Jane is the first wife of Henry that Mary has liked since her mother, the late Catherine of Aragon. Henry calls Mary a "jewel" and seems to have gained some new affection for his daughter. One day he is summoned to Jane's chambers and instantly comes, believing something is wrong with the queen. However, upon arriving Henry discovers joyful news; Jane can feel something moving inside her. He leans on her stomach and tells their son inside her to be strong, having hopeful ambitions for the child to be a boy. Jane is delighted and this happiness is contageous. Of course, everybody shares the king and queen's happiness.

Jane goes into labor and Mary stays with her. Several of Jane's ladies are very supportive of their queen, but nobody knows that from now their queen is doomed. Excitement spreads throughout the kingdom and everybody prays for the queen. Jane is still in labor a while later but not much has resulted from it and she looks very sick. Henry is presented with the choice of saving the mother's life or the life of the child. But Henry is spared this choice when Queen Jane delivers herself, and he celebrates the birth of a son. However, his joy is cut dramatically short when he comes to the queen's chambers to find her seriously ill, struck with childbed fever. He orders everyone else to get out, but kisses Mary's hand when she is about to leave. Once everybody has left, Henry goes to Jane's bedside and tells her not to go, and pleads to God, saying, "Don't go. Please don't go. Just because you have done everything you have promised, please don't leave me. You are the milk of human kindness, the light in my dark, dark world. Without you, life is a desert, a howl in the wilderness. Please, God, in your mercy, don't take her away from me. My son needs his mother and I need my queen." However, Jane dies, and her funeral is held. Mary and then Henry stand over her body mourning.

Personality
Jane was a very compassionate and kind woman. She was noted for having inner beauty and noble character, and despite not being exceptionally foolish she was very subservient to Henry. The only time she ever disobeys his wishes is when she begs him to restore and keep the abbeys. She is very good to her ladies in waiting and all servants in general, not ordering them to do deeds and treating them the way she, as a queen, would like to be treated. Jane also loves to smile, as she is seen grinning several times throughout her appearances in the episodes. At first, however, she seems to be a more conniving and clever maiden and flirted with and kissed the married King while his wife was pregnant. Her kind heart and noble character earns her much popularity as queen. She is the most popular queen in the series since Catherine of Aragon. She is noted for her inner beauty.

Relationships

 * Henry and Jane
 * Jane and Edward
 * Jane and John
 * Jane and Lady Rochford
 * Jane and Edward

Trivia

 * Jane is considered to be the wife Henry loved the most because she gave him a male heir, Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.
 * She was the only one of Henry's wives to recieve a queen's funeral.
 * Jane came from a family of eight siblings, although only two of them, her brothers, Edward Seymour and Thomas Seymour, are shown on the series.
 * Historians debate whether Jane Seymour played a role in the downfall of Henry's second wife, her enemy and predecessor Anne Boleyn.
 * After Jane Seymour's death Henry didn't marry again for three years.
 * There is some speculation that Jane had a c-section, which, if true, would have been the cause of her death.
 * Jane was not the sort of woman that Henry usually liked. She was not pretty or accomplished, and was very average. She was also rather old to be unwed, but Henry loved her to death anyway, and remembered her as his favorite wife for many years. Many historians still wonder why Henry liked Jane and how a woman as unremarkable as her became Queen of England. She was noted to be very plain and not pretty.
 * Jane Seymour was portrayed by Anita Briem in Season 2. However, for unknown reasons, the character was then portrayed by Annabelle Wallis in Season 3. It is likely Briem had other projects in mind and Wallis was brought to the cast to fill the void, however the exact reason why Briem chose to leave The Tudors, especially when Jane Seymour's character only had 4 episodes left, is unknown.

Quotes

 * "Are you saying that I should be Queen instead of her?"
 * "When I am Queen I should hope to see her reinstated as heir apparent."
 * "Thankyou. I will treasure this all my life. And if they ever open my grave, they will find it again, right next to my heart" (Jane recieves Henry's locket)
 * "Lady Rochford it's not your fault your husband betrayed you. Nor is it Mary's fault or Elizabeth's fault to be born of a king. Women are put upon much in this world. It is my desire as much as I can to promote their interests. I must do it quietly but I will do it all the same."
 * "I beg you to restore and keep the abbeys. Think what the world would think. You'd listen to your people and your heart."
 * "He must do as he will. It is we, Lady Rochford, who must always honour and obey. Do not be troubled for me, for I have great reason to be happy." (Jane's reaction upon hearing Henry has a mistress)

Appearances

 * Matters of State
 * Lady in Waiting
 * The Act of Treason
 * Destiny and Fortune
 * Civil Unrest
 * The Northern Uprising
 * Dissention and Punishment
 * The Death of a Queen
 * The Death of a Monarchy