Old Letters from the Tudors

Recently I came across a very interesting article on the BBC News website called “King Henry VIII Letter found at Dunham Massy,” (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-17258508).

This article is about a letter written by King Henry VIII, and a document written by his third wife, Jane Seymour, regarding the birth of his only male heir. These documents were discovered in storage at the Dunham Massey estate in England. An expert from the John Rylands library confirmed that both documents are authentic.

These documents date back to the mid-1500s, and are addressed to George Booth Esq., who was known for building the first house at the National Trust Site in 1600.

The letter from King Henry to Booth is dated 1543, and is a call for landlords to recruit troops from their tenants to help battle against the Scots.

Jane Seymour’s letter was written in 1537 and announces the birth of her son, and Henry’s future heir, Edward VI.  Unfortunately, Seymour died less than two weeks after the birth of Edward.

In history class this year we have learned all about the Tudor family, and about all of Henry’s many wives. We learned that Edward IV was to be Henry’s only son, after his first two wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Bolyn, failed to produce the boy he wanted to rule his land.

This article caught my eye because of all of the time we have spent in class studying the Tudors. It’s interesting to see that even King Henry and Queen Jane of England sent birth announcements and letters asking for help to close friends. 

Photo:

“Letter from Henry to Booth.” Photograph. The History Blog. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/15539