by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Jane Seymour was the daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth.  Jane’s birth date is unknown, but she was probably born around 1508, most likely at the family home, Wolf Hall in Wiltshire.  The Seymours were descendants of a supporter of William the Conqueror, who took his name from St. Maur-sur-Loire in Touraine, France, and were also descendants of King Edward III of England through his son Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence.   Jane, Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn, and Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard all shared a great-grandmother and therefore, all were second cousins.  Anne and Catherine were also first cousins.

Jane Seymour had eight siblings. Two of her brothers, Edward and Thomas, were executed during the reign of her son King Edward VI.

• Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of King Edward VI (c. 1500 – 1552), married (1) Catherine Fillol, had issue; (2) Anne Stanhope, had issue
• Sir Henry Seymour (1503 – 1578) married Barbara Wolfe, had issue
• John Seymour (1504 – 1510)
• Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley (c. 1508 – 1549) married Catherine Parr, sixth wife and widow of King Henry VIII, had one daughter Mary; Catherine died due to childbirth complications, and there is no mention of Mary after her second birthday
• Anthony Seymour (died c. 1528)
• Elizabeth Seymour (c. 1518 – 1568), married (1) Sir Anthony Ughtred, had issue; (2) Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell of Oakham, son of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister of King Henry VIII, had issue (3) John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester, no issue
• Margery Seymour (died c. 1528)
• Dorothy Seymour, married (1) Sir Clement Smith, had issue; (2) Thomas Leventhorpe of Shingle Hall, no issue

Jane’s education was not academic, but rather practical.  She learned household management and needlework.  Her embroidery was said to have been beautiful and elaborate.  Jane became a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, and then to Anne Boleyn, HenryVIII’s second wife.  In September of 1535, Henry stayed at Wolf Hall, the Seymour family home, and it may have been then that he first noticed Jane.   However, the first evidence of Henry’s interest in Jane was not until February of 1536 when Henry’s disinterest in Anne was obvious and Jane was thought likely to become Henry’s third wife.  Jane is said to have resisted Henry’s attempts to make her his mistress.

On May 30, 1536, King Henry VIII was married to Jane Seymour, his third wife, by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in a private ceremony held in the Queen’s Closet at Whitehall Palace.  Henry and Jane had been betrothed on May 20, 1536, a day after the execution of Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn.

Although Henry wanted Jane to have a coronation, she was never crowned.  At first, the coronation was postponed because of the plague in London and then further postponed because of her pregnancy.  Jane had known Mary, Henry’s daughter since the days she served as maid of honor to Mary’s mother, Catherine of Aragon, and she was able to reconcile father and daughter.  Through Jane’s influence, Mary was brought back to court.

Early in 1537, Jane became pregnant.  The joyous king fulfilled Jane’s every desire and made sure she was attended by the best doctors and midwives.  As was tradition, Jane went into confinement a month before the baby’s due date.  At 2 AM, on October 12, 1537, the long-awaited male heir was born at Hampton Court Palace.  Jane’s labor had been long, two days and three nights.  Three days later, the baby was christened Edward after Edward the Confessor whose feast day is October 13.  His half-sisters Mary (daughter of Catherine of Aragon) and Elizabeth (daughter of Anne Boleyn) attended the ceremony along with his mother who was carried on a litter.

On October 17, 1537, Jane’s condition deteriorated and she was given the last rites.   She died at Hampton Court Palace on October 24, 1537, most likely from puerperal fever or childbed fever, a bacterial infection. The majority of child-bed fever cases were caused by the birth attendants themselves. With no knowledge of germs, it was believed that hand washing was unnecessary.

Jane was buried on November 12, 1537, in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.  Mary, Henry VIII’s elder daughter, was the chief mourner.  Henry’s plans to build a magnificent monument over Jane’s tomb never happened.  In 1547 and three wives later, Henry VIII died and was laid to rest with Jane.  In 1649, after his execution by beheading, King Charles I was laid to rest in the same vault as Henry and Jane.  The only memorial to the three is a plaque on the floor put there by King William IV in 1837.  Jane and Henry’s son Edward succeeded his father, but his reign was short.  King Edward VI died at the age of 15 and was succeeded by Henry’s daughter with Catherine of Aragon (Queen Mary I) who was then succeeded by Henry’s daughter with Anne Boleyn (Queen Elizabeth I).

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Tudor Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Tudor Index
• British Royal Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Important Events
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• History and Traditions: Tudor Weddings
• House of Tudor Burial Sites
• House of Tudor Christenings

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

 

The future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom was born on June 23, 1894, at White Lodge, Richmond Park on the outskirts of London, England.  At the time of his birth his great-grandmother Queen Victoria sat upon the throne of the United Kingdom.  His parents, the future King George V and Queen Mary were the Duke and Duchess of York and his grandparents, the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were Prince and Princess of Wales.  The infant prince was the eldest son of his parents and was third in the line of succession behind his grandfather and father.

 

The little prince was christened with a long string of names, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, on July 16, 1894, in the Green Drawing Room at White Lodge by Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury.  The name Edward was in honor of his late uncle and elder brother of his father Prince Albert Victor known as Prince Eddy.  Christian was for his great-grandfather King Christian IX of Denmark and Albert was for his great-grandfather Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  The last four names, George, Andrew, Patrick, and David, were in honor of the patron saints of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.  In the family, the prince was known as David.

David had twelve grandparents, nine of whom were reigning sovereigns/consorts or future reigning sovereigns/consorts:

• Christian IX, King of Denmark (his maternal great-grandfather)
• Wilhelm II, King of Württemberg (his mother’s distant cousin)
• The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Edinburgh (his father’s paternal uncle Alfred)
• The Prince of Wales (his grandfather, the future King Edward VII)
• Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia (the future Emperor Nicholas II, his father’s first cousin)
• The Duke of Teck (his maternal grandfather)
• Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (his mother’s maternal uncle)
• Queen Victoria (his paternal great-grandmother)
• Queen Louise of Denmark (his maternal great-grandmother, born Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel)
• Queen Olga of Greece (his great-aunt, born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia)
• The Princess of Wales (his paternal grandmother, the future Queen Alexandra, born Princess Alexandra of Denmark)
• The Duchess of Teck (his maternal grandmother, born Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge)

David had four brothers and one sister:

• King George VI (1895-1952), married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, had two daughters
• Mary, Princess Royal (1897-1965), married Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood, had two sons
• Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974), married Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, had two sons
• Prince George, Duke of Kent, (1902-1942), married Princess Marina of Greece, had two sons and one daughter
• Prince John (1905-1919)

David’s Family, 1906

Along with his siblings, he was raised at York Cottage, his parents’ home on the grounds of Sandringham, and York House, St James’ Palace. In 1901, Queen Victoria died, and his grandfather became King Edward VII. His parents became the Prince and Princess of Wales, and soon after the family moved to Marlborough House, just across from St James’ Palace.  David and his brother, the future King George VI (called Bertie in the family), were raised by Frederick Finch, the nursery footman, and Henry Hansell, their tutor. Finch remained an important person in David’s life as he later became his valet and then his butler. David continued under Hansell’s instruction until 1907 when he enrolled at the Osborne Naval College.  He did not enjoy his time there and after two years, he moved on to continue his studies at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

In May 1910, David’s grandfather King Edward VII died and David’s father became King George V. David automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay and was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester a month later on June 23, 1910, his 16th birthday.  Because, he was now heir to the throne, his education intensified. He was withdrawn from his naval course before his formal graduation and then served as midshipman for three months aboard the battleship Hindustan.   Next, he was enrolled at Magdalen College, Oxford, despite that he was underprepared intellectually. He left Oxford after eight terms without any academic qualifications.

 

On July 13, 1911, at Caernarvon Castle in Wales, David was formally invested as Prince of Wales in a ceremony instigated and devised by Welsh politician David Lloyd George, Constable of the Castle and Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time and a future Prime Minister.  David, at the sensitive age of 17, was made to wear what he considered a ridiculous fancy outfit.

When World War I started in 1914, David was eager to participate. He had joined the Grenadier Guards in June 1914 and was willing to serve on the front lines.  However, Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener refused to allow it because of the possible harm that could occur if the heir to the throne was captured by the enemy.  David countered that he had four younger brothers and the succession to the throne was safe, but it was to no avail. The sense of frustration he felt was to remain for the rest of his life. He did get to witness trench warfare first-hand and visited the front lines as often as he could.

In the 1920s and the 1930s, David, as Prince of Wales, made several successful overseas tours. He was a popular prince and was admired for his fashion style and easy manner.  Much to his father’s annoyance, David showed little interest in marrying and settling down. His father was disgusted by his affairs with married women and was reluctant to see him inherit the throne. King George V prophetically said, “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in 12 months.”

In 1930, King George V gave David the lease of Fort Belvedere, in Windsor Great Park. There, David continued his relationships with a series of married women, including socialite Freda Dudley Ward and Thelma, Viscountess Furness, the American wife of a British peer, who introduced the prince to her friend and fellow American Wallis Simpson. Wallis was in her second marriage to Ernest Simpson, an American-born naturalized British shipping executive.  Her first marriage had ended in divorce.  The Simpsons became frequent guests at Fort Belvedere and Wallis acted as his hostess in spite of the presence of her apparently complacent husband.

On January 20, 1936, King George V died and David became King Edward VIII.  He showed impatience with court protocol and caused concern by his disregard for established constitutional conventions. He was also completely enthralled by Wallis and was naively convinced that once she was free from her marriage, he would be able to marry her and she would be queen.  At that time, it was unthinkable that the Supreme Governor of the Church of England could marry a person who had been divorced not just once, but twice.  David’s insistence on proceeding with these plans despite much advice to the contrary provoked a government crisis.

David informed Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he would abdicate if he could not marry Wallis. Baldwin then presented the king with three choices:  (1) give up the idea of marriage  (2) marry against his ministers’ wishes  (3) abdicate. It was evident that David was not prepared to give up Wallis and he knew that if he married against the advice of his ministers, he would cause the government to resign, prompting a constitutional crisis. He chose to abdicate.

King Edward VIII signed the Instrument of Abdication at Fort Belvedere on December 10, 1936, in the presence of his brothers: Prince Albert, Duke of York, the heir to the throne; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince George, Duke of Kent. The next day, the last act of his reign was the royal assent to His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, necessary because only Parliament can change the succession to the throne. On the evening of December 11, 1936, once again His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the former king gave his famous radio speech in which he said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”

On December 12, 1936, at the accession meeting of the Privy Council, the new King George VI announced he was going to give his brother the title Duke of Windsor with the style of Royal Highness. Letters Patent dated May 27, 1937 re-conferred the “title, style, or attribute of Royal Highness” upon the Duke of Windsor, but specifically stated that “his wife and descendants, if any, shall not hold said title or attribute”.

• Wikipedia: Edward VIII Abdication Crisis

On June 3, 1937, David married Wallis Simpson at the Château de Candé, near Tours, France. The legality of King George VI’s Letters Patent stating that David’s style Royal Highness could not be extended to his wife or children is doubtful.  As the son of a British monarch, David was entitled to that style which should have automatically reverted to him upon his abdication and automatically extended to his legal wife and any legitimate children.  David considered denying his wife the style Her Royal Highness unjust, but out of respect for his brother, he never made a public issue.  In their household, the Duchess of Windsor was always addressed as Royal Highness.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson

 

During World War II, David was at first stationed with the British Military Mission to France but after accusations that he held Nazi sympathies, he was appointed Governor of the Bahamas. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor lived the latter part of their lives in Paris, France in a mansion they called Villa Windsor located at 4 Route du Champ d’Entraînement in the Bois de Boulogne, a large park. The house is owned by the city of Paris and was leased to the Windsors at a nominal rent from 1952 to 1986.  During the 1950s and 1960s, the Duke and Duchess were treated as celebrities and were the toast of parties they hosted and attended as guests.  The couple visited Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon at the White House and were popular guests among society around the world.

The Duchess was never fully accepted by the Royal Family. Her mother-in-law Queen Mary refused to formally receive her. Occasionally, the Duke did visit his mother and brother King George VI and did attend his brother’s funeral in 1952 and his mother’s funeral in 1953. He did not attend the coronation of his niece Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. In 1965, the Duke and Duchess visited London and were visited by the Duke’s niece Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke’s sister-in-law Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and the Duke’s sister Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood. During their visit to London, the Duke’s sister Mary suddenly died and the couple attended her funeral. The funeral of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent in 1968 was the last royal event the Duke attended. He was invited to the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969 but declined the invitation.

The Duke’s health started to decline during the 1960s when he was treated for an aneurysm and detached retina. He was a heavy smoker and in late 1971 was diagnosed with throat cancer. Early in 1972, the Duke underwent surgery for a hernia. On May 18, 1972, Queen Elizabeth II, along with the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales, visited the Duke at his Paris home while on a state visit to France. The Duke was too ill to come downstairs to tea, but the Queen spent 15 minutes talking alone with her Uncle David in his sitting room after the Duchess of Windsor hosted tea in the downstairs drawing-room.

Ten days later, a statement from Buckingham Palace said: “It is announced with deep regret that His Royal Highness, the Duke of Windsor, has died at his home in Paris at 2:25 A.M., Sunday, May 28, 1972.” The Duke of Windsor died a month before his 78th birthday. The Duke’s body lay in state at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and an unexpectedly large number of people filed by the casket.

Queen Elizabeth II, The Duchess of Windsor and The Queen Mother at the Duke of Windsor’s funeral

At the Duke’s request, a private royal funeral was held at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The casket, draped in the Duke’s personal standard, was carried into the chapel by eight soldiers of the Welsh Guard followed by The Duke of Edinburgh, King Olav V of Norway who was a first cousin of the Duke, and other male members of the Royal Family. Excepting the Duke’s only surviving brother, The Duke of Gloucester who was too ill, all other adult members of the Royal Family attended the funeral. The Dean of Windsor the Rt. Rev. Launcelot Fleming conducted the funeral service along with the Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey and the Archbishop of York Donald Coggan. During the funeral, the Garter King of Arms recited words reserved for a deceased sovereign: “Knight of the Garter, of the Thistle, of St. Patrick, Knight Grand Cross of a multiplicity of Orders, sometime the most high, most mighty and most excellent monarch Edward VIII of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India.”

The Duke’s casket was of plain English oak and bore the inscription “HRH The Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Duke of Windsor. Born 1894. Died 1972. King Edward VIII 20th January – 11th December 1936.” The Duke of Windsor was buried near his brother the Duke of Kent at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore behind the Royal Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Frogmore near Windsor Castle. The Duchess of Windsor attended her husband’s funeral. She lived as a recluse in her Paris home until her death in 1986 and was buried next to her husband.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

House of Windsor Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Windsor Index
• Birth of the House of Windsor
• British Royal Weddings
• Children, Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, and Great-Great-Grandchildren of King George V
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• First Cousins of King George VI and King Edward VIII
• History and Traditions: Windsor Weddings Part 1 – Children of King George V
• History and Traditions: Windsor Weddings Part 2 – Later Windsor Weddings
• House of Windsor Christenings
• House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and House of Windsor Burial Sites
• Line of Succession to the British Throne
• Windsor Weddings Part 1 – Children of King George V
• Windsor Weddings Part 2 – Later Windsor Weddings
• When The British Monarch Dies

by Emily McMahon © Unofficial Royalty 2013

I have recently found myself with a bit more free time on my hands due to an attack of acute appendicitis and a consequent appendectomy. In these days appendectomies are typically quick, routine surgeries that involve fairly easy recoveries for most patients (as mine has been). However, surgery to relieve appendicitis is a relatively new treatment that has been practiced regularly for only about the past 100 years – previous sufferers of appendicitis typically died of sepsis.

One of the most famous (and at the time controversial) surgeries for appendicitis occurred in the United Kingdom in 1902. After spending more than 59 years as the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria, would be beginning his own rule as Edward VII. What occurred a few months into Edward’s reign changed the course of medical and legal history in surprising ways.

Edward had been king for a few months when a brilliant coronation ceremony was meticulously planned for June 26, 1902, at Westminster Abbey. Having spent nearly sixty years in pursuit of the finer things in life, Edward had had plenty of time to consider exactly how large of a celebration his coronation would entail. Several thousand pounds of fowl were ordered for the banquet, viewing stands were constructed along the parade route, and numerous hotels were built to accommodate the influx of expected guests to London.

While Edward was focused on the details of his coronation, his body had other plans. In the two weeks preceding the coronation, Edward had recurrent abdominal pain accompanied by a fever. After being examined by several members of his medical staff, Frederick Treves (once a physician for Joseph Merrick, otherwise known as the Elephant Man), Edward’s accomplished and newly-appointed Sergeant-Surgeon was summoned for his opinion.

By the time Treves first examined Edward on June 18, Edward was running a constant fever and had developed a mass in the lower right quadrant of his abdomen. For his part, Edward was eager to resume his activities and was annoyed at the thought of rumors of his illness circulating. Edward’s private secretary, Sir Francis Knollys, quickly issued a report denying any problems with Edward’s health.

Although Edward was feeling well enough to attend a lavish banquet on June 23, he was confined to bed the following day with a high fever and intense pain. After another examination of the King, the medical team concluded that Edward was suffering from appendicitis and required immediate surgery.

The regrettable timing aside, Edward was incredibly fortunate to have appendicitis while in the care of Dr. Treves. Although not the first to perform an appendectomy, Treves first did surgery on a patient with recurrent appendicitis in 1888. After the successful surgery, Treves authored a paper presented to the Royal Medical and Surgical Society a few months later recommending the removal of appendices in similar cases. Although his recommendation was not well-received by the medical community, by the turn of the 20th century he had removed more than one thousand appendices.

Insisting on fulfilling his duty, Edward rejected his doctors’ planned course of action. He continued to refuse surgery until Treves bluntly pointed out that Edward would be dead before the coronation took place. This approach seemed to work on Edward as he finally agreed to the surgery – and the coronation was officially postponed until further notice.

Shortly after noon on June 24, the abscess in Edward’s abdomen was drained, irrigated, packed with gauze, and fitted with rubber tubing to allow additional pus to escape. The operation took about an hour and a half. Edward started to choke during the operation, but the team managed to get the King to breathe again by pulling on his beard, thus opening his mouth.

Edward’s appendix was actually not removed, but the draining and cleaning of the abscess prevented further illness. On the following day, Edward was able to sit up in bed and smoke a cigar and within two weeks, it was clear that the King would make a full recovery. The medical team (including Treves) was awarded knighthoods for their actions and authored numerous articles that described the King’s illness and treatment.

Most rejoiced at the King’s miraculous recovery, particularly those in the East End poorhouses who received the thousands of chickens, quails, and game hens intended for the coronation banquet. However, the canceled coronation took its toll on those contracted to provide supplies, services, and payment for venues booked. A number of so-called “coronation cases” were decided in the British courts surrounding the contracts broken due to the cancellation.

Most of these contracts were voided as the arrangements were typically made with the sole purpose of celebrating the coronation. However, in the case of Herne Bay Steamboat Company vs. Hutton, it was ruled that a river cruise could be booked and enjoyed regardless of whether the coronation was held. Mr. Hutton was one of the few coronation case plaintiffs who was ordered to provide full payment as agreed by contract.

A more scaled-down coronation for Edward was held on August 9. While the practice of surgical intervention for appendicitis gained acceptance from one of its most famous patients, its adoption was not universal nor were the symptoms of appendicitis yet fully recognized. Shortly before Edward’s operation, Treves’ own daughter Hattie died of a ruptured appendix. Edward’s nephew Christian of Hanover had died from appendicitis that was incorrectly diagnosed a few months before. And in a final twist of irony, Frederick Treves himself died of peritonitis in Switzerland in 1923. An autopsy was not performed, but the culprit was assumed to be a ruptured appendix.

There is no word yet on the new date for my coronation.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.