monarch

loyal heart

— Speech of King Henry VIII

The queen's labor pains began at dinner time, and when the news reached King Henry, who was eating, the king's joy was beyond words.Miss Jane Seymour, too, duly congratulated the King, though no one could have guessed her true feelings behind that perfect courtly smile.The whole court was immersed in joy, and the king had such a good appetite that he even knighted the chef of the evening immediately after the dinner was over.

However, when the king got up the next morning to learn that the queen had still not given birth, he seemed less happy.The courtiers who met in the morning noticed that the king's face had returned to the inscrutable expression, and his air pressure seemed to be lower than usual.In the afternoon, the king went hunting, but for the first time, he did not invite Lady Jane to accompany him. This caused quite a commotion in the court, and the Seymour family became the center of all rumors.

Ms. Jane has now lived in a suite second only to the king and queen, and she even has her own attendants. Her reception room is now the hottest place in the palace, but today Ms. Jane has emptied the entire living room, Only received one visitor.

Sir Edward Seymour was sitting on the sofa, casually playing with a fan placed on the sofa, and seemed not to notice his sister's anxiety: "Dear sister, this fan is so ingenious, it seems to be made in Venice?" Ms. Jian glared at her brother: "Edward, it's hard to imagine that you still have such a leisurely mood at this time."

Sir Edward still wears his iconic smile. He is very handsome. He even fascinated the Queen of France when he was 14 years old. Although he is now middle-aged, he is still loved by the ladies in the court. He is still the same Lazy tone: "Whether the queen's child is born safely has nothing to do with us, anyway, she won't live long, and you will become queen within two months." "But what if she gives birth to a son, I will What about the child of the Duke of Norfolk? Do you want the Duke of Norfolk's nephew to be the future king?"

Sir Edward looked at his sister, she did have a good face, but unfortunately she lacked brains, but the king liked this, maybe because the two women before him were too smart... "My dear sister, why should you worry about these illusory things? After all, in history, there are countless Princes of Wales who died young, aren't there?" Ms. Jane seemed a little frightened, but she quickly calmed down her emotions and said to herself He said to himself: "Yes, yes, it will take a long time..." Sir Edward looked at his sister, showing a smile of unknown meaning...

……

When the king got up the next morning, the queen was still in labor, and the whole court was shrouded in a low air pressure. The king didn't say a word all morning, and no courtier dared to disturb the king at this time.After lunch, the king went out to hunt, but he still didn't bring any courtiers with him. The atmosphere in the palace was already extremely weird...

……

King Henry was chasing a deer through a meadow, and when the deer disappeared into the forest, the king suddenly lost all interest in the chase.How many years, he thought, he rode slowly along a small stream, since he had seldom been so frustrated since he took the throne.Everything he and his father had done, and even the Tudor estate, seemed to be ruined because there was no male heir.The War of the Roses has just passed 50 years, and now the mountain people in the deep mountains of Wales even think that the king is Richard III of the York family. A family with only women will not have anyone willing to support it. Foreigners invaded, just like what happened in Brittany or Burgundy decades ago... Is it because I married Catherine, the widow of my brother Arthur?It is said in the Bible that those who live with their own sister-in-law will die. Is this really retribution?But I have corrected my mistakes, divorced Catherine, and turned myself into the supreme ruler of the Church of England, so there should be no punishment from God, after all, the king is no different from God now... There seems to be someone in the distance Come on horseback?a messenger?Bad news, obviously, finally came, he thought, Anne Boleyn, the damned woman, who had failed him in the end, who had done so much for her, and who couldn't bear a son... Henry was somewhat Angrily watched as the squire approached, stopped, saluted, and reported to him.What did he say?The king was a little dazed, but after a few seconds he seemed to come to his senses: "Sir, please say it again?"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, the queen has just given birth to a little prince."

It took a while for Henry VIII to react. He was ecstatic, and it was only because of the cultivation of Qi cultivated by decades of monarchy that he could control his emotions, "Thank you, sir, how is the Queen's health? ?” “Unfortunately, Your Majesty, the queen is too weak and has passed away.” Died?In fact, he didn't care, but there should always be proper etiquette, "It's really sad news, it dilutes the joy that the good news brought me before." The king's tone was not sad, he waved his horsewhip, He galloped towards the palace, and the attendants hurriedly followed behind him...

The christening and canonization of the Prince of Wales took place for two weeks from 8 August, with "Thanksgiving" being played in churches across England.When the dust settled, messengers from the English court set out from London to inform the courts of Europe of the birth of the future King of England, Prince Edward-Alexander.Half a month later, Queen Anne was buried in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Her tomb was next to the one chosen by King Henry for himself.The king personally sprinkled the first handful of soil on the coffin, and called Anne "the love of my life", and three days later in this church, King Henry VIII and Miss Seymour tied the knot, and the guests still attended the funeral The ones in the past are just dressed in festive color dresses...

As the highest-ranking nobleman in England, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, can have the most luxurious room no matter where the court moves, and this suite in Windsor Castle is one of his favorites, and at this time this terrible man Sitting in an armchair drinking mulled wine with cloves and cinnamon, trying to beat the autumn chill.

"Look at those Seymours," he said with disgust in his tone, "their tails are going up in the air today, and I can't help but wonder if they have anything to do with my poor guillotined brother-in-law Pauline's family." What kind of relationship." The person sitting opposite him let out a giggle, the sound was as sharp and piercing as iron nails scraping glass, and the Duke couldn't help frowning.Baron de Pello, the French ambassador, stopped his laughter and said in his accented English: "But a queen is a queen, isn't she? If one day a Howard girl becomes a queen, I look forward to seeing the duke What's the reaction?"

The Duke of Norfolk curled his lips in disdain: "It's just the third queen. The Seymour family has not learned from the experience of the previous two queens. It's really stubborn."

"Yes, the queen can be abandoned at any time, but the Prince of Wales is just the opposite. I would like to congratulate you, Your Excellency, for obtaining such an advantageous position."

The Duke of Norfolk smiled slightly: "Thank you for your congratulations, although all this is beyond my expectation, it can be regarded as a pleasant surprise."

The French ambassador looked at the face of the Duke with a smirk, this old fox, he thought, "My master, His Majesty King François, has always admired His Majesty the Duke, and is willing to do everything possible to obtain the future king of England." Uncle's friendship."

The Frenchman can't bear it at last, thought the Duke of Norfolk, so now it's my turn to play, "I'd love to have the friendship of the King of France, and I'm sure England expects the same from France, so no Do you know what His Majesty is willing to do for this friendship?"

……

The entire English court was jubilant in the winter of 1536 for no other reason than the king's new wife, Queen Jane, became pregnant a few months after their wedding.King Henry was very pleased that a second son, a Duke of York, would undoubtedly secure the line of succession thoroughly.Compared with Queen Anne, Jane Seymour is now rosy, and the future child can be expected to be very strong, rather than a weak kitten like the current Prince of Wales.Celebrations were held throughout London, and Queen Jane's innocent appearance and her people-friendly style made her popular among the common people.Even the Holy See recognized her status, and announced that the son of the future Queen Jane should become the future King of England, not the son of the witch Anne... King Henry was noncommittal about this, but the Seymour family was happy, the uncle of the future King of England Home!Who could not be tempted by such a prize?

……

Hampton Court Palace, September 1537.

Queen Jane awoke from her coma, thank God the labor was over, she thought.The maid put a glass of water into her mouth.The queen recovered a little strength, and she was a little nervous: "How about my child, is it a boy or a girl?" The maids at the side lowered their heads, as if they were a little embarrassed to speak.The chief attendant said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty just woke up, you need to rest."

The atmosphere was not quite right, and Queen Jane's heart suddenly seemed to be poured into ice water. "What happened?" Her voice trembled, but no one answered.The queen was full of fear: "My brother, please come here, Lord Hertford!" The maids looked at each other and at the hysterical queen, and finally decided to obey her order.

Edward Seymour, the current Earl of Hertford, walked into the queen's delivery room. There was a strong smell of blood in the room, and he couldn't help frowning.He looked at his sister on the bed. She looked haggard and no longer as beautiful as before. The doctor said that she might not be able to conceive again in the future, which is really regrettable.The king won't be happy, he can't allow a woman who can't bear children to sit in the queen's seat, especially when he still wants a second son, maybe he should find a way to make her give up the throne voluntarily?Otherwise the Seymours were just another Boleyn family when the king abandoned her...

The queen watched her brother's face change and change, but she didn't have the time to think about it, "Brother, how is my child?" She stared at Edward Seymour, as if a ghost in hell stared at her Save the angel.The Earl of Hertford looked at his sister. He must tell her, he thought.

"Your Majesty, I regret to tell you that the little prince lost his breath just after he was born...it was a stillborn baby, Your Majesty..." After he finished speaking, he saw the queen collapse without any surprise, and he felt a little disgusted. Looking at his sister intently, it seems that she is really useless, but at least she got the title of earl, didn't she?There are other girls in the Seymour family, and there may be opportunities in the future... He rang the bell, summoned the maid to take care of the queen, and then left the queen's apartment...

……

Edward Seymour returned to his chambers, and the king's favorite, uncharacteristically, saw no one, but sat for a long time alone.When it was getting dark, he finally made up his mind and summoned his personal servant: "John, please go and ask Dr. Smith to come to me."

"Yes, my lord."

……

The queen woke up much better, but the next day she suddenly had a fever, and by the next night she was dying.The queen hoped to see the king, but the news was that the king had returned to London the day before yesterday.At midnight, the queen finally died in the arms of her chief lady-in-waiting.

Ten days later, the queen's funeral was also held at St. George's Cathedral in Windsor, almost exactly like Queen Anne's.

Except the king was not present.

Act One Autumn Roses