Best remembered as the woman who provided English King Henry VIII with a male heir, Jane Seymour was Henry's third wife, following the divorced Catherine of Aragon and the disgraced and beheaded Anne Boleyn.

She was born to a prominent court family, the eldest daughter of a family with three children. The Seymour family was not always so highly placed, and was considered second-rate gentry until Jane's father, Sir John Seymour, was knighted by Henry VII. Little is known of Jane's upbringing, though it seems likely that she was in noble service to Henry's sister Mary, who was married to the king of France. This was a typical path for noble children, and her brothers, as well as the Boleyn sisters, served in a similar capacity and spent at least several years living in France.

It is not unreasonable to suggest that Anne and Jane traveled to and lived together in France during their youth. Records do not reveal when she began service as a lady-in-waiting at the English court, though it is known that she served in that capacity for Anne Boleyn when she became queen. Some theories suggest she was placed thusly in order to attract the attentions of the king. If so, it was for both family political purposes as well as for something larger. Jane was a staunch believer in the old faith, Catholicism. She adamantly opposed the English Reformation. She and those who agreed with her knew that if she could supplant Anne that Henry might be convinced to return to the Church. In order to accomplish this goal; however, Anne would have to be dead, thereby legally and theologically freeing him to marry and remain in the Papal fold.

Jane apparently was more than eager to cooperate, and permitted the king to engage in a dalliance with her. Anne had plenty of enemies, and as Henry became more entranced with the beautiful Jane, he might well have given his tacit approval to investigate his wife and eventually arrest her on trumped up charges of adultery. As Anne's execution date approached, Jane retired to her family home to be away from the drama and scandal. However, even as Anne was imprisoned and killed, along with several innocent noblemen, Jane was planning her wedding an trousseau. She even agreed to marry Henry almost immediately following Anne's execution.

Having learned from watching Anne's example, Jane wisely chose to keep her religious views to herself, at least until she had delivered a healthy son for the king. In 1537 she conceived and had an uneventful pregnancy. Her labor and delivery, though, were difficult and severe. When asked by her physician as to whether to save the baby or the mother, the king was said to have replied, "Save the child, for other wives are easily found." Jane did safely deliver a son, but she remained weakened and ill. She did attend her son's christening, carried in on a type of sofa/bed. The following day she worsened. She lived a little more than a month after the birth of her child. That son would go on to become King Edward VI, a boy king, who died while still a teenager.