– King Henry Has a Full Cradle –
by Lady Trader | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | April 18, 2025
Welcome back to Court and to episode four of “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light”
This week I thought we would look at the birth of Henry’s son Edward, his christening, and the death of Queen Jane, along with other fun facts about this week’s episode “Jenneke.”
The episode opens to Henry admiring an enormous portrait of himself (and Jane) that is on display at the Palace of Whitehall. Henry wants Holbein to make copies to send abroad, and copies of this portrait were made which is why this portrait is one of the most known of Henry. This portrait shows Henry at fine health, and we know that is not the case. This portrait projects what Henry wants the Court and the world to see, not necessarily the reality. Fun fact about this portrait: when Henry’s daughter Elizabeth becomes Queen in 1558, she prominently displays this portrait in her Presence Chamber. This would be the first thing a courtier would see when entering, reminding everyone who her father was and her lineage. She wanted to make sure each person in her presence knew she was a Tudor and the legitimate Queen. Unfortunately, the portrait was destroyed in a fire in 1698.
The joyful day is finally here, and Henry has a son! Edward was born on October 12, 1537 at Hampton Court. His father, and the whole of England celebrated this joyous occasion.
What we did not see is that Jane has an extremely difficult labor. She struggled for two days because the baby was not in the correct position for an easy birth. When we see her with Cromwell looking out at Edward’s christening procession, she was most likely exhausted, but she was not ill yet. Edward was christened on October 15th, with his sister Mary as his godmother, and his sister Elizabeth carrying his train. (This goes against what Norfolk says to Cromwell about Mary “looking sour.” Mary and Edward were quite close until he became King in 1547.)
There are conflicting reports on whether Jane was at the christening. It was common at that time that a woman would not be seen again in public after giving birth until she was churched which was about 40 days. However, there are accounts that an exception was made for Jane because she was the Queen. Either way, the King was not there, as was customary.
Jane became ill not long after the christening. She died at Hampton Court on October 24, 1537, only 12 days after giving birth. There are several theories on what caused her illness and death, with the most likely being an infection, either from puerperal fever or not all of the placenta being expelled. Hygiene in Tudor times was non-existent so it would be very easy for bacteria to infect a new mother. As there were no antibiotics at the time, childbed fever was usually fatal. So, Cromwell was wrong when he believed Jane’s diet or her being cold had anything to do with her death. It was probably due to one of her midwives not washing their hands.
Jane was buried at Windsor Castle on November 12th, with the Lady Mary being the chief mourner. She was the only one of Henry’s wives to receive a Queen’s funeral.
The death of Jane sends Henry into a downward spiral. Although we don’t see it in the episode, this is when Henry really starts to get obese and his health, including his leg ulcers, really begins to get worse.
Although Henry’s cradle is now full, one male heir is not enough. Henry himself knows how important it is to have an heir and a spare – he was the spare! Also, there was a high infant mortality rate during this time. Henry’s first son with Catherine of Aragon, Henry Duke of Cornwall, was born on January 1, 1511 and died on February 22 of that same year; there was no guarantee that the healthy Edward would make it to his first birthday, so another wife with the possibly of another son was needed.
The Privy Council wanted Henry to look to France or Spain for a bride while Cromwell wanted one that would be an ally against the Catholic powers of Europe.
Read the rest of the original article at Fan Fun With Damian Lewis