Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour, 30th May 1536

Henry married Jane only 11 days after Anne Boleyn had lost her head. This was six years after the death of Wolsey.


On the left, the other Jane Seymour, born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg, in her 007 role as the lovely Solitaire.




In a googlefight, the Queen wins!

"Jane Seymour Queen of England": 517,000 results
"Jane Seymour actress" : 361,000 results

Cardinal Wolsey in Shakespeare; The Globe burns down during "Henry VIII", June 1613.

Shakespeare's last English history play, performed in 1613, was initially titled "All is True". By the time of the publication of the 1623 folio, however ,it had aquired a longer-winded title The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth. Shakespeare probably collaborated with John Fletcher on this play, as he did on others.

According to the Oxford Shakespeare, the play was just into its first run at the Globe, Southwark, in June 1613 when the firing of a cannon ignited the theatre's thatched roof and burned it to the ground. Oops. The were luckily no serious casualties.

See below for a selection of lines or quotations spoken by Cardinal Wolsey in Shakespeare's "Henry VIII".

Act 2 Sc 2:
Wolsey (aside to Gardiner, the King's new secretary, later Bishop of Winchester)
"Give me your hand. Much joy and favour to you. you are the King's now."
Gardiner (aside to Wolsey)
"But to be commanded for ever by your grace, whose hand has raised me."
Act 3 Sc 1
Wolsey (to Queen Katherine)
"Madam, you wrong the King's love with these fears. Your hopes and friends are infinite."

Act3 Sc 2
Wolsey (aside)
"Anne Boleyn? No, I'll no Anne Boleyns for him"

Act3 Sc 2
Wolsey (aside)
"...Again there is sprung up an heretic,
An arch one, Cranmer, one hath crawled
Into the favour of the King
And is his Oracle."

Wolsey (to Henry)
"....My endeavours have ever come too short of my desires..."

Wolsey (facing his downfall):
...This is the state of man. Today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; tomorrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do...."
Wolsey (to Cromwell):
...Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my King, He would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies."

Click this link for more Cardinal Wolsey quotes

Let them eat cake! Henry Jones invents self-raising flour. March 17th, 1845

Henry Jones was fortunate amongst inventors in that he actually made a lot of money from his ingenuity, rather than see others turn his ideas into cash. Good for him.

This is from an article by Eugene Byrne for the 2006 Bristol "Festival of Ideas".
" A baker and confectioner in Broadmead (Bristol), Jones patented his self-raising flour in 1845. Until then, the only raising agent used in bread was yeast, which would not keep. This meant that soldiers and sailors, particularly, had to consume bread and biscuit that would become almost inedible. Jones said it was concern for servicemen, just as much as profit, which prompted him to develop his invention".

Henry Jones strove to convince the Admiralty that although a diet of "maggots, weevils and mouldy biscuits" may have suited Nelson’s crews, only good bread, decently baked, would satisfy a modern seaman.

"It was quickly championed by Florence Nightingale, who could see the advantage in soldiers and sailors enjoying a decent diet and Jones also got a warrant from Queen Victoria to supply the royal household. An article in The Lancet in 1846 praised Jones Patent Flour for its “contribution to public health and to the daily comfort of the masses”. Jones made a small fortune, and then another with his arrowroot biscuits, which were cheap and hugely popular"

Here's a link to an interesting website on the history of Bristol firms , which has a longer article on Henry James & Co , which is still going strong.