On this day in Tudor history, 11th October 1537, poor Jane Seymour was in labour with her first and only child, Edward VI.
It was a long and difficult labour, and on 11th October, there was a solemn procession in the city of London to pray for her. After about thirty hours, Jane gave birth to a healthy baby boy, who would become King Edward VI.
In today's talk, I share contemporary sources about the procession and Jane's labour.
Also on this day in history:
- 1521 – The title of Fidei Defensor, “Defender of the Faith”, was conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII. This was a reward for Henry VIII writing his pamphlet Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum (“Declaration of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther”), defending the Catholic Church against the works of Martin Luther.
- 1531 – The Battle of Kappel and the death of Huldrych Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, at the battle.
- 1532 – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn left England for Calais, where Anne was treated as Henry VIII’s Queen and consort.
- 1537 – Traditional date given to the birth of Lady Jane Grey. It is now thought that she was born in spring 1537, “before the end of May” (Leanda de Lisle).
- 1542 - Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, poet and diplomat, died at Sherborne in Dorset. He had been complaining of severe headaches since 1539. Wyatt was just thirty-nine years old at his death, but his poetry is still enjoyed the world over, although the majority of his work was not published in his lifetime.
- 1549 – Arrest of Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King’s Person.
- 1551 – John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, became the Duke of Northumberland and Henry Grey, father of Lady Jane Grey, became the Duke of Suffolk.
- 1558 – Death of Paul Bush, Bishop of Bristol, at Winterbourne. He was buried in Bristol Cathedral.
- 1982 – The raising of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's ship, from the seabed just off the coast off Portsmouth where she had lain since she sank on 19th July 1545.