The Boy King - the long-longed for son
Prince Edward was the son that Henry VIII had always wanted - and gotten rid of two wives for. When he was born on October 12th 1537 his mother, Jane Seymour, immediately rose in Henry's affection. But the young Prince never knew his mother who died just eleven days after giving birth to him.Edward was a healthy baby and Henry doted on him. Despite the image of him as a sickly boy, he was actually of a rather good health and grew very fast as a child. The only real health issue - before his final illness - was a poor eyesight. Henry VIII wanted desperately to keep the child safe from both diseases and assassination. Edward was placed in the care of Lady Bryant and his household was run by Anne Stanhope's (Edward Seymour's wife) stepfather. Visitors who came to visit the Prince was met with an extremely clean household and a child that had all the toys he could imagine - nothing was to be missing for the King's only son.
