Meek and mild, or smart and scheming? Have we all been underestimating the third wife of Henry VIII?

Was Jane Seymour the meek and mild lady she's often portrayed as, or was she more smart and scheming than we give her credit for?

Although her time as queen didn't last long, Seymour's legacy was huge. Not only did she give Henry his first son, she was also the only one of his wives not to lose her title, her head, or her husband.

Who was the real woman behind the reputation? How did she cleverly win Henry's favour? And how did her life meet a sudden and tragic end?

In the third episode of our limited series, Secret Wives of the Six Wives, Kate is joined once again by Tudor export Nicola Tallis, to help us find out more about the woman who finally gave Henry what he craved: a male heir.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Game of the Year 2025: Day 2

Giant Bombcast

Golem wins Best Z-teamer

The AI-powered Podcast Player