Today in 1537 Henry VIII finally got his longed-for son when Edward was born to Jane Seymour. He was born inside his mother’s room in Hampton Court.
Throughout the realm, the people greeted the birth of a male heir, “whom we hungered for so long”, with joy and relief. Te Deums were sung in churches, bonfires lit, and “their was shott at the Tower that night above two thousand gonnes”. Queen Jane, appeared to recover quickly from the birth, and sent out personally signed letters announcing the birth of “a Prince, conceived in most lawful matrimony between my Lord the King’s Majesty and us”. Edward was christened on 15 October, with his half-sisters, the 21-year-old Lady Mary as godmother and the 4-year-old Lady Elizabeth participating in the ceremony, and the Garter King of Arms proclaimed him as Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester. But the Queen, however, became ill on 23 October from postnatal complications, and died the following night. Henry VIII wrote to Francis I of France that “Divine Providence … hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness”.
Edward would become king after the death of his father in 1547, and ushered in an era of Protestantism that saw the whitewashing of churches, breaking stained glass windows, and the attempt to end any sign of traditional Catholicism in England. He died after only 6 years, and his sister Mary brought back the Catholic mass.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Author Janet Wertman on Edward VI
Episode 074: Edward, Mary, and France
Episode 13: Edward VI
From the shop:
Jane Seymour Porcelain Ornament
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.