Love, Remember Me by Bertrice Small EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Bertrice Small
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2.5 MB
- Price: Free
THE queen was dead. She had been safely delivered of a strong,
healthy son on Friday, the twelfth day of October, at two o’clock in the
morning. The king, at Esher when the queen birthed the prince, rode
with all haste to Hampton Court to see his son. The child was sturdy of
limb and fair-haired. Henry Tudor was overwhelmed with his joy. At
last he had a male heir! He could even feel benevolent toward his two
daughters, sallow Mary, overpious and always looking at him sidewise,
and wee Elizabeth, Nan’s girl.
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The less said about her the better. The
wench was far too pert and knowing for a baby-maid of three. Yet Jane,
God bless her, loved both his girls. She wanted them with her here at
court; Mary for a companion, and Bess to raise with their son.
“You have done well, sweetheart,” the king told the queen. He placed
a kiss upon her brow, and patted the little hand reaching out to him.
“He’s a fine lad, and we’ll have a few more to keep him company, eh
Jane?” He beamed lovingly at her. “Three or four lads for England!” Ohh,
he felt triumphant and justified now. God was but approving his
behavior of the past few years by finally giving him a son.
Jane Seymour smiled wanly at her husband. She had had a long and
a very hard labor, almost three days of it, but the matter of her son’s
name must be settled. “What would you call him, my lord?” she asked
her husband. She did not want to think of three or four additional births
just yet, as the memory of her pain was still strongly with her. If God
had made men capable of childbirth, she thought secretly, would they
be quite so enthusiastic about large families?
“Edward,” the king said. “My son shall be named Edward.”
The royal heralds were sent out to every part of the country to give
the people the glad news that King Henry VIII and his young queen,
Jane, were the parents of a goodly lad. The church bells in the city of
London began a happy pealing that lasted the whole day long and into
the following night. Te Deums were sung in every church in England to
celebrate Prince Edward’s arrival.
There were bonfires everywhere. The
Tower of London was practically ringed in blue smoke as its guns
thundered two thousand times in honor of the newborn prince.
Housewives hung garlands above their doorways and prepared food for
the celebratory feasts that would follow the happy birth. Gifts and good
wishes began to pour into Hampton Court at a great rate. Who knew
where or whom the king’s benevolence might touch in light of his
pleasure. All of England rejoiced with Henry and his queen at the news
of Prince Edward’s birth.
On Monday, the fifteenth of October, Prince Edward was christened
in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court. The celebration began in the
queen’s private apartments. The king had decided, and the queen had
meekly agreed, that Archbishop Cranmer, the Dukes of Suffolk and
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