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2:27 pm
August 12, 2010
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I would have to say his favorite wife was Jane and I'm not sure if it was for the right reasons. I think it was just because she wasn't so feisty and because she had a son. So I'm not sure if thats 'true love' in that case. He was just in love with himself and passing his royal genes on to a son-that was his 'true love'
7:41 am
September 22, 2010
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AnneTheQueene said:
I would have to say his favorite wife was Jane and I'm not sure if it was for the right reasons. I think it was just because she wasn't so feisty and because she had a son. So I'm not sure if thats 'true love' in that case. He was just in love with himself and passing his royal genes on to a son-that was his 'true love'
I agree with you…Henry didn't love anyne or respect anyone for the right reasons.He had loved both Katherine and Anne but when he grew out of his love (and out of necessity) he destroyed them.Poor Jane was more loved while dead than while she lived.He only loved her I think because she gave him a son and didn't bother him much afterwards.Unlike his first two marriages,in his eyes,she had the decency to leave him when she was no longer wanted,after she 've done her duty and without putting him up to much fight
11:30 am
February 24, 2010
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My understanding is that Henry said Jane was his “True wife.” He believed that because she gave him a son. He did mourn her by wearing black well into 1538. He did not marry again until January 6, 1540. It was the longest period Henry went without marrying. He was buried next to her. He honored her because she gave him a son. This is what he believed made her a “true wife.” Because she gave him a son before dying, she earned the status of “true wife” in his eyes. Oh, woe is Henry. The man's ego…ugh! He was not very nice to her when she didn't get pregnant fast enough for him. He was even considering other marriage prospects while married to her. This, of course, before she became saintly.
There is a big difference between Henry's idea of “true wife” and who he actually loved. If I'm not mistaken, he never said she was his favorite wife or the wife he truly loved. She was just his “true wife.”
6:21 pm
August 12, 2009
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I said it on another thread, but it applies here, too, I think. Henry's love always came with strings attached.
Henry's memory was certainly convenient upon occasion. His memories of Jane no doubt were “misty water-colored memories of the way we were”. Sorry. Now I've got that tune stuck in my head.
And I believe that part of the reason Henry went so long without remarrying was that he was having trouble finding someone who would marry him! Ambassadors were sending out feelers right after Jane's death, announcing Edward's birth, Jane's death, and Henry's need for another wife almost simultaneously (David Starkey makes it seem that all three announcements were in the same letter, but I'm not totally sure it was quite that callous).
"Don't knock at death's door.
Ring the bell and run. He hates that."
10:59 am
February 24, 2010
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Carolyn. Thanks. I had that song in my head all day Saturday. But never fear…on Sunday I watched “Sea of Love” and had that song in my head for the rest of the weekend.
It is so hard to be a romantic while reading about Henry isn't it?
I found this on a website for Anne of Cleves.
There was a gap of over two years between Jane Seymour's death in October 1537 and Anne of Cleves's arrival in England in late December 1539. Romantics believe the king waited such a long while to marry again because he loved Jane so much. Whether he loved her or not is beside the point, though there is ample evidence that he did. Henry actually waited so long (and he did so quite impatiently) because marriage negotiations took an unexpectedly long time. He actually sent out instructions regarding the search for a new wife barely a month after Jane's death.
4:37 pm
November 18, 2010
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Sharon said:
I found this on a website for Anne of Cleves.
There was a gap of over two years between Jane Seymour's death in October 1537 and Anne of Cleves's arrival in England in late December 1539. Romantics believe the king waited such a long while to marry again because he loved Jane so much. Whether he loved her or not is beside the point, though there is ample evidence that he did. Henry actually waited so long (and he did so quite impatiently) because marriage negotiations took an unexpectedly long time. He actually sent out instructions regarding the search for a new wife barely a month after Jane's death.
These days we are used to royal weddings taking place in a few months, basically the amount of time it takes to arrange the various ceremonies and receptions, that we lose sight of the whole offer/counter offer that arranged royal marriages used to take. Added to that was the travelling time required for even the simplest journey. Crossing the channel from Dover to Calais could take days.
I agree that Henry thought or even believed that Jane was his favourite wife, merely due to her giving him a healthy son. I also think he was genuinely fond of KP.
It's always bunnies.
