Tudor History with Claire Ridgway24 Okt 2025

Jane Seymour’s Death - A Deep Dive into the causes

When Jane Seymour gave birth to Henry VIII’s long-awaited son, England rejoiced. Bells rang, bonfires blazed, and Henry finally had his male heir.
But just twelve days later, the joy turned to sorrow, Queen Jane Seymour was dead.

For centuries, her death has been shrouded in confusion and myth.
Some say she died after a Caesarean section. Others, childbed fever. Alison Weir believes food poisoning and an embolism were to blame.

In this episode, I take a closer look at the evidence, exploring eyewitness reports, Tudor medicine, and modern medical insight, to uncover what really killed Henry VIII’s third wife.

Discover:

Why the “food poisoning” theory doesn’t fit the timeline
How a thirty-hour labour made infection likely
Why the phrase “taking cold” may describe septic shock
And how the choice of a royal physician over a midwife may have cost Jane her life

This is the tragic and very human story behind the death of Henry VIII’s so-called “perfect queen.”

Sources & Further Reading:

https://tudortimes.co.uk/guest-articles/why-did-jane-seymour-die-in-childbed
https://tudortimes.co.uk/guest-articles/why-did-jane-seymour-die-in-childbed/evidence
https://tudortimes.co.uk/guest-articles/why-did-jane-seymour-die-in-childbed/more-than-one-pregnancy
https://tudortimes.co.uk/guest-articles/why-did-jane-seymour-die-in-childbed/final-stages
https://elizabethnortonhistorian.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-death-of-queen-jane.html
The Seymour Family, history and romance by Amy Audrey Locke - https://archive.org/details/seymourfamilyhis00lockuoft/page/18/mode/2up?q=cold
'Henry VIII: October 1537, 21-25', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 12 Part 2, June-December 1537, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1891), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol12/no2/pp335-345
Hall’s Chronicle - https://archive.org/details/hallschronicleco00hall/page/824/mode/2up
Wriothesley’s Chronicle - https://archive.org/details/chronicleofengla01wriouoft/page/68/mode/2up
24 October 1537 – The Death of Queen Jane Seymour - https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/24-october-1537-death-queen-jane-seymour/
How to spot maternal sepsis, NCT - https://www.nct.org.uk/information/pregnancy/body-pregnancy/how-spot-maternal-sepsis
Signs of Infection After Birth: Postpartum Infection & Sepsis - https://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/pregnancy-and-birth/labour/signs-of-infection-after-birth

#JaneSeymour #TudorHistory #HenryVIII #OnThisDay #TudorWomen #ClaireRidgway #AnneBoleynFiles #MedicalHistory #TudorTragedy #HistoryMystery #TudorEngland #ChildbedFever #Sepsis #TudorMedicine

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(1008)

Did Catherine Howard REALLY Confess? I Went Back to the Evidence

Did Catherine Howard really confess that she intended to have sex with Thomas Culpeper? I've seen this claim repeated in books and online, and something about it has been bothering me. So, while resea...

17 Sep 2min

Actually, Henry VIII DID Divorce His Wives...

You've probably heard the famous rhyme about Henry VIII's six wives:"Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived."But mention it online, and you tend to get someone saying, "Actually, Henry...

7 Sep 4min

Anne Boleyn Was Queen for 3 Years - What Did She Actually Do?

We spend so much time talking about Anne Boleyn's extraordinary rise and her dramatic fall that we often skip over the bit in between, but what was Anne actually like as Queen of England?Anne was Henr...

24 Aug 34min

Who Would Marry Henry VIII? The Search for Wife No. 4

Who would agree to become Henry VIII's fourth wife?By late 1537, Henry VIII was back on the marriage market. Catherine of Aragon had been banished, Anne Boleyn had been executed, and Jane Seymour had ...

14 Aug 18min

Did Mary of Guise Use Anne Boleyn's Words to Refuse Henry VIII's Proposal?

One of the most famous quotations attributed to Mary of Guise is her alleged reply to Henry VIII's proposal of marriage:"I may be a big woman, but I have a very little neck."It's a wonderful story, cl...

6 Aug 9min

Was Henry VIII really catfished by Anne of Cleves?

It's one of the most famous stories surrounding Henry VIII's fourth marriage. Hans Holbein the Younger was supposedly sent to Cleves to paint Anne's portrait, produced an image that made her look far ...

29 Juli 26min

Did Christina of Denmark REALLY Say "If I Had Two Heads..."?

Did Christina of Denmark really tell Henry VIII, "If I had two heads, one would be at His Majesty's disposal"?It's one of the most famous quotations associated with Henry VIII's search for a fourth wi...

23 Juli 10min

Why Couldn't Henry VIII "Do It" With Anne of Cleves?

Did Henry VIII Have Erectile Dysfunction? The Anne of Cleves Bedroom MysteryDid Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves ever actually "do it"?Henry claimed that his marriage to Anne was never consummated becaus...

21 Juli 28min