Brianna here, Jane Seymour in our play.
I was just doing some reading and came across an interesting tidbit from the pages of History.
Very little is known about Jane before the time she caught the eye of our Harry. But there is some conjecture, based on a portrait by Holbein, in the royal collection at Versailles, entitled maid of honour to Mary of England, Queen to Louis the Twelfth; which hangs besides one of Anne Boleyn of a similar title. Could it be that Jane finished her education at the court of France?
If so, she would have been living in the same court as Anne Boleyn, at the same time, and they both were likely to have returned to England and Henry's court together as well.
Can it be that these two queens, from similarly power-hungry families, may have been girlhood companions? Maybe even girlhood rivals, raised to the same purpose of gaining Henry's affections for the benefit of her family?
How fascinating!
Anne brought France back with her and revolutionized the English court with music, wit and fashion. Jane, as Queen, sent it all back again.
And then there's this:
"If tradition is to be accredited, Jane had been introduced to Court but a short time, when the Queen, seeing a splendid jewel suspended from her neck, expressed a wish to look at it. Jane blushed, and drew back; when the Queen, whose jealousy had already been aroused against her, violently snatched it from her neck; and, on examining it, found it to contain a miniature of the King, presented by himself to her fair rival."
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/janeseymour.htm
When sometime later Anne walked in on Henry with Jane seated on his knee and happily accepting his caresses, she flew into a passion and ordered Jane away from court. But Jane ignored the orders of her mistress and sovereign (and long-time rival?) and stayed. Thus was Anne started off, and eventually she was finished off too. This boldness from the future Queen who is only ever accredited with modesty and virtue!? There is definitely more to Queen Jane than meets the eye- after all she raised no moral qualms when she was betrothed to King Harry the day after Anne was beheaded!
So, Jane the Queen- Henry's perfect bride- turns out to be quite the mystery. Not so boring after all, eh girls!?
And if she really was a rival to Anne Boleyn since childhood, (and possibly learned all the same tricks from France but chose to use them very differently) that gives me a great 'real-life drama' to take with me as I work to embody some version of this woman on stage!
In "Lives of the Queens of England" Agnes Stickland states that Jane Seymour might have been schooled in the French Court. However, given that Jane Seymour was related to Anne,and the Howard family, it's only logical that she would be given the same advantage as Anne once had,imo. It's also make sense , if you consider that Jane would be chosen as Anne's replacement.
ReplyDelete