title: The Queen at Leisure
author: Ansell, Derek
description: On the morning of May 19th 1536, Jane Seymour sits in a mansion in Chelsea, once owned by Sir Thomas More, waiting for the summons to the king's palace. In less than five minutes the big canon on Tower Hill will boom and the Queen of England, Anne, will be dead. Ahead, in the following months, Jane will be queen herself during one of the most turbulent times in English history. She will work tirelessly to restore Lady Mary, once the Princess Mary and little, three year old Lady Elizabeth, also without her title, to favour with their father and a return to court. She will live through changes made by Henry VIII to parliament that give him unprecedented rights to heading government and church and deciding who rules after him if he has no legitimate heir. England will be changed forever. She will also live through a rebellion in Yorkshire and surrounding counties that plans to remove Henry from the throne. But her biggest personal challenge will be to produce the son and heir that neither of the previous two queens could provide. All of England will await the answer and none more keenly than the king himself. This is Jane's story, her love for and life with the king, told directly. It traces her journey to his palace, their betrothal, marriage and the many events of 1536 and 1537 that she was either an observer of or a direct participant in. The Queen At Leisure -Two momentous years in the life of Henry VIII's favourite wife, the woman he called 'my one true love.'