What happened to Jane Seymour from Wolf Hall? Historical life explained

After neither Catherine of Aragon nor Anne Boleyn could give him a male heir – a disappointment for which the latter paid the ultimate price – there was some pressure on Jane (played by Kate Phillips) to succeed where they had fallen short.

Famously, she did so, but in a tragic twist of fate, was not able to see her son grow up and become king himself, with her untimely death thought to have briefly shattered her tyrannical husband's somewhat fickle heart.

Here's everything you need to know about what happened to Jane Seymour, one of several historical figures depicted in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.

What happened to Jane Seymour from Wolf Hall?

Jane Seymour died shortly after giving birth to her son, Edward.

The precise cause of her death is still debated to this day, with some modern-day doctors theorising that she may have developed puerperal fever (also known as childbed fever); a bacterial infection of the female reproductive tract.

One of the symptoms of the illness is chills, which might explain the record of Jane suffering "great cold" in the days leading up to her death (as cited by HistoryExtra).

However, historian Alison Weir has suggested, after consultation with medical professionals, that an alternative possibility is that Jane could have had a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs).

Jane was the only one of King Henry VIII's six wives to have received a royal funeral, with the monarch ultimately choosing to be buried next to her in Windsor when his own time came.

But does that signify that Jane was an especially loved partner to the notorious bully?

How did King Henry VIII react to Jane Seymour's death?

King Henry VIII was deeply troubled by Jane Seymour's passing.

The monarch was a regular sight beside Jane's bed in her final days, which was remarkable due to his intense fear of sickness, with the Duke of Norfolk (played by Timothy Spall) writing that he was in a state of "great heaviness" during this period.

When Jane succumbed to her ailing condition, King Henry VIII is known to have spent time grieving alone, refusing to take meetings with even his closest advisors and confidantes.

That said, there is evidence to suggest that Jane did not occupy the special place in Henry's heart that some romanticists have imagined.

For one thing, prior to her pregnancy, the king had commented that he did not find her especially beautiful compared to other women in the royal court.

Meanwhile, he also harshly rebuked Jane when she expressed her profound concern over the dissolution of the monasteries, alluding to the possibility of her facing the same grim fate as Anne Boleyn.

Lastly, the king began to consider his options for a fourth marriage mere weeks after Jane's death, but notably did not formally begin negotiations with Anne of Cleves until almost 18 months later.

That his marriages to both Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard were somewhat disastrous means that Jane's shadow may well have loomed large over his later years, when his physical health also began to deteriorate.

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light continues Sundays on BBC One and iPlayer.

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