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Tudor queen celebrated in new online resource

As part of the celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne, the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre has launched an online resource looking at his marriage to Wiltshire-born Jane Seymour.

Part of the Archive Awareness Campaign, the blog looks at some of the records relating to their marriage and, in particular, Henry's gifts of land and properties to his third, and 'favourite', wife.

Henry became engaged to his mistress Jane Seymour on 20 May 1536 - only one day after the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn. The Henry VIII blog, featuring images of the lavishly decorated documents, can be found at wshc.eu/blog.

'There is no substitute for resources which tell you how people lived, what they saw, felt and thought,' said Angela Owusu, Archive Awareness Campaign Officer. 'The blog will be a treat to read, especially during this anniversary year. It demonstrates the many treasures people can come across in the archives.'
                                                                                       
Henry gave his new queen a large number of estates and manors by way of a marriage settlement. The documents featured are title deeds to the properties, each decorated with a portrait of Henry. Jane later died giving birth to Edward, Henry's only son.

Archivist Steve Hobbs, from the History Centre, said: 'Something like this is of great local interest because the Seymours were the county's most important family at that time.' He added that the documents are also of international importance as they relate to 'arguably England's most famous King and his favourite Queen'.

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